A Rare Glimpse into the Past of the Anthrax Pathogen Bacillus anthracis.

ABSTRACT: The bacterium Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of the zoonotic disease anthrax. While genomics of extant B. anthracis isolates established in-depth phylogenomic relationships, there is scarce information on the historic genomics of the pathogen. Here, we characterized the oldest documented B. anthracis specimen. The inactive 142-year-old material originated from a bovine diseased in Chemnitz (Germany) in 1878 and is contemporary with the seminal studies of Robert Koch on B. anthracis. A specifically developed isolation method yielded high-quality DNA from this specimen for genomic sequencing. The bacterial chromosome featuring 242 unique base-characters placed it into a major phylogenetic clade of B. anthracis (B.Branch CNEVA), which is typical f

SUBMITTER: Braun P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7074940 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature