Whole-genome shotgun sequencing of the first observation of Neisseria meningitidis sequence type 6928 in India

Neisseria meningitidis is one of the leading global causes of bacterial meningitis. Here, we discuss the draft genome sequences of two N. meningitidis strains, isolated from bloodstream infections in two pediatric patients at a tertiary care hospital in South India. The sequence data indicate that strains VB13856 and VB15548 encode genomes of ~2.09 Mb in size with no plasmids

First report on a cluster of colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from a tertiary care center in India : whole-genome shotgun sequencing

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a nosocomial pathogen with clinical importance due to its increasing resistance to carbapenems and colistin. Here, we report the genome sequences of eight colistin-resistant K. pneumoniae strains which might help in understanding the molecular mechanism of the species. The sequence data indicate genomes of ~5.2 to 5.4 Mb, along with several plasmids

Accurate differentiation of Escherichia coli and Shigella serogroups: challenges and strategies

Shigella spp. and Escherichia coli are closely related; both belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae. Phenotypically, Shigella spp. and E. coli share many common characteristics, yet they have separate entities in epidemiology and clinical disease, which poses a diagnostic challenge. We collated information for the best possible approach to differentiate clinically relevant E. coli from Shigella spp. We found that a molecular approach is required for confirmation. High discriminatory potential is seen with whole genome sequencing analysed for k-mers and single nucleotide polymorphism. Among these, identification using single nucleotide polymorphism is easy to perform and analyse, and it thus appears more promising. Among the nonmolecular methods, matrix-assisted desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry may be applicable when data analysis is assisted with advanced analytic tools. Keywords: 16S rRNA, k-mer, MALDI-TOF MS, single nucleotide polymorphism, whole genome sequencin