Whole genome sequencing of Shigella sonnei through PulseNet Latin America and Caribbean: advancing global surveillance of foodborne illnesses

Objectives Shigella sonnei is a globally important diarrhoeal pathogen tracked through the surveillance network PulseNet Latin America and Caribbean (PNLA&C), which participates in PulseNet International. PNLA&C laboratories use common molecular techniques to track pathogens causing foodborne illness. We aimed to demonstrate the possibility and advantages of transitioning to whole genome sequencing (WGS) for surveillance within existing networks across a continent where S. sonnei is endemic. Methods We applied WGS to representative archive isolates of S. sonnei (n = 323) from laboratories in nine PNLA&C countries to generate a regional phylogenomic reference for S. sonnei and put this in the global context. We used this reference to contextualise 16 S. sonnei from three Argentinian outbreaks, using locally generated sequence data. Assembled genome sequences were used to predict antimicrobial resistance (AMR) phenotypes and identify AMR determinants. Results S. sonnei isolates clustered in five Latin American sublineages in the global phylogeny, with many (46%, 149 of 323) belonging to previously undescribed sublineages. Predicted multidrug resistance was common (77%, 249 of 323), and clinically relevant differences in AMR were found among sublineages. The regional overview showed that Argentinian outbreak isolates belonged to distinct sublineages and had different epidemiologic origins. Conclusions Latin America contains novel genetic diversity of S. sonnei that is relevant on a global scale and commonly exhibits multidrug resistance. Retrospective passive surveillance with WGS has utility for informing treatment, identifying regionally epidemic sublineages and providing a framework for interpretation of prospective, locally sequenced outbreaks

Long-range Angular Correlations On The Near And Away Side In P-pb Collisions At √snn=5.02 Tev

7191/Mar294

Functional biogeography of Neotropical moist forests: trait-climate relationships and assembly patterns of tree communities

Aim: Here we examine the functional profile of regional tree species pools across the latitudinal distribution of Neotropical moist forests, and test trait-climate relationships among local communities. We expected opportunistic strategies (acquisitive traits, small seeds) to be overrepresented in species pools further from the equator due to long-term instability, but also in terms of abundance in local communities in currently wetter, warmer and more seasonal climates. Location: Neotropics. Time period: Recent. Major taxa studied: Trees. Methods: We obtained abundance data from 471 plots across nine Neotropical regions, including ~100,000 trees of 3,417 species, in addition to six functional traits. We compared occurrence-based trait distributions among regional species pools, and evaluated single trait-climate relationships across local communities using community abundance-weighted means (CWM). Multivariate trait-climate relationships were assessed by a double-constrained correspondence analysis that tests both how CWMs relate to climate and how species distributions, parameterized by niche centroids in climate space, relate to their traits. Results: Regional species pools were undistinguished in functional terms, but opportunistic strategies dominated local communities further from the equator, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Climate explained up to 57% of the variation in CWM traits, with increasing prevalence of lower-statured, light-wooded and softer-leaved species bearing smaller seeds in more seasonal, wetter and warmer climates. Species distribution were significantly but weakly related to functional traits. Main conclusions: Neotropical moist forest regions share similar sets of functional strategies, from which local assembly processes, driven by current climatic conditions, select for species with different functional strategies. We can thus expect functional responses to climate change driven by changes in relative abundances of species already present regionally. Particularly, equatorial forests holding the most conservative traits and large seeds are likely to experience the most severe changes if climate change triggers the proliferation of opportunistic tree species

Measurement of hadron and lepton-pair production at 130 GeV<root s<140 GeV at LEP

Contains fulltext : 26240.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Neutral and charged D 17 production in 360 GeV/c \u3c0 12p interactions

The first data on the production of D 17(2010) are presented as observed in \u3c0 12 -proton interactions at 1as = 27 GeV. It is found that D 17(2010) dominates the total charm D-meson production, without a significant non-central component