Genetic characteristics of Arcobacter skirrowii based on whole genome sequence

  Objective  To understand the genetic characteristics of Arcobacter skirrowii from different sources and hosts and analyze their antibiotic resistance and virulence associated genes.

  Methods  Bioinformatics software was used for the comparative analysis on the whole genome sequences of 8 A. skirrowii strains isolated in our laboratory and the whole genome sequences of 15 A. skirrowii strains from NCBI and PATRIC database.

  Results  bla_OXA-464 was the only identified antibiotic resistance gene in 3 A. skirrowii strains. All the strains contained immune invasion, evasion and motility-related virulence genes. Compared with the 10 virulence genes identified in other Arcobacter, the virulence genes, ciaB, tlyA, cj1349, pldA and mviN were found in all of the tested strains. iroE was identified only in two strains (CNAS12-1 and F28), no other 4 virulence genes were found. Type Ⅵ secretion system (T6SS) gene cluster was found in 21.7% (5/23) of the tested strains, which had differed genetic constitution and arrangement compared with T6SS of other Arcobacter.

  Conclusion  A. skirrowii showed high genetic diversity, and some strains might have potential drug resistance and pathogenic characteristics.