Comparative Genomics of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Serotype 8 Reveals the Importance of Prophages in the Genetic Variability of the Species

• Published in: International journal of genomics Vol. 2020; no. 2020; pp. 1 - 12
• Main Authors: Bazzolli, Denise Mara Soares, Nascimento, Moysés, Vidigal, Pedro Marcus Pereira, Crispim, Josicelli Souza, da Silva, Giarlã Cunha, Prado, Isabelle Gonçalves de Oliveira, Santana, Mateus Ferreira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2020; Hindawi; Hindawi Limited; Wiley
• Subjects: Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae; Algorithms; Amino acid sequence; Cell division; Clinical isolates; Gene transfer; Genes; Genetic variability; Genomes; Genomics; Horizontal transfer; Metabolism; Pleuropneumonia; Prophages; Proteins; Recombination; Regulatory sequences; Respiratory diseases; Serotypes; Species; Studies; Synteny; United Kingdom > UK; Brazil
• ISSN: 2314-436X; 2314-4378
• DOI: 10.1155/2020/9354204

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the etiologic agent of porcine pleuropneumonia. Currently, there are 18 different serotypes; the serotype 8 is the most widely distributed in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and southeastern Brazil. In this study, genomes of seven A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 8 clinical isolates were compared to the other genomes of twelve serotypes. The analyses of serotype 8 genomes resulted in a set of 2352 protein-coding sequences. Of these sequences, 76.6% are present in all serotypes, 18.5% are shared with some serotypes, and 4.9% were differential. This differential portion was characterized as a series of hypothetical and regulatory protein sequences: mobile element sequence. Synteny analysis demonstrated possible events of gene recombination and acquisition by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in this species. A total of 30 sequences related to prophages were identified in the genomes. These sequences represented 0.3 to 3.5% of the genome of the strains analyzed, and 16 of them contained complete prophages. Similarity analysis between complete prophage sequences evidenced a possible HGT with species belonging to the family Pasteurellaceae. Thus, mobile genetic elements, such as prophages, are important components of the differential portion of the A. pleuropneumoniae genome and demonstrate a central role in the evolution of the species. This study represents the first study done to understand the genome of A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 8.