Assessing the Genetic Diversity of Austrian Corynebacterium diphtheriae Clinical Isolates, 2011 to 2019.

ABSTRACT: Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease with a high potential for reemergence. One of its causative agents is Corynebacterium diphtheriae, with some strains producing diphtheria toxin. From 2011 to 2019, 57 clinical C. diphtheriae strains were isolated in Austria, either from the respiratory tract or from skin infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of these C. diphtheriae isolates using whole-genome sequencing. Isolates were characterized by genome-wide comparisons using single nucleotide polymorphism analysis or core genome multilocus sequence typing and by searching sequence data for antimicrobial resistance genes and genes involved in diphtheria toxin production. The genetic diversity among the isolates was high, with no clear

SUBMITTER: Schaeffer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8106727 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature