Project description:The Mobile CRISPRi system with and without mRFP-targeting sgRNA was engineered into Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 strain with chromosomally encoded mRFP. RNA was isolated from these strains, and the corresponding cDNA library was synthesized and sequenced in 150 bp paired-end reads. Approximately 1,000,000 reads were collected for each of the two samples, with ~94% alignment to PA14 WT by Bowtie254, and transcripts were counted with HTSeq55. Only genes with a non-normalized read count greater than 1 in both samples were included in analysis, with a coverage of 1286 genes (~20% genome). This data shows that the Mobile CRISPRi system is selective for sgRNA-guided knockdown of mRFP.
Project description:Natural isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp), the causative agent of melioidosis, are known to exhibit diverse phenotypic traits, suggesting significant intraspecies genetic heterogeneity. Using whole-genome Bp microarrays, we experimentally mapped patterns of large-scale genomic variation in 93 South East Asian clinical, environmental, and animal Bp isolates. 14% of the reference Bp K96243 genome was variably present across the strain panel, more than double previous estimates, and both hypothetical proteins and paralogous gene pairs (PGPs) were significantly over-represented in the set of strain-variable genes. Examining patterns of PGP retention and loss, we successfully sub-categorized the PGPs into non-redundant, functionally biased, and completely redundant classes. We then identified 20 novel regions (“islands”) variably present between strains previously missed by computational analysis. Three of these novel islands contained lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis genes, and strains lacking one such LPS island demonstrated reduced virulence in mouse infection assays. Clinical isolates associated with human melioidosis were strongly associated with the presence of specific genomic islands, but a common set of virulence-related genes was present in all strains. Our results suggest that most Bp strains possess a core virulence machinery capable of causing disease, but accessory functions provided by mobile elements may predispose distinct host species and ecological niches to specific individual strains. This hierarchical model of Bp virulence reconciles previous conflicting studies comparing Bp environmental and clinical isolates, and suggests novel molecular strategies for disease surveillance and outbreak detection efforts in melioidosis. Keywords: aCGH of 93 Bp strains
