High-throughput nanopore sequencing of Treponema pallidum tandem repeat genes arp and tp0470 reveals clade-specific patterns and recapitulates global whole genome phylogeny.

ABSTRACT: Sequencing of most Treponema pallidum genomes excludes repeat regions in tp0470 and the tp0433 gene, encoding the acidic repeat protein (arp). As a first step to understanding the evolution and function of these genes and the proteins they encode, we developed a protocol to nanopore sequence tp0470 and arp genes from 212 clinical samples collected from ten countries on six continents. Both tp0470 and arp repeat structures recapitulate the whole genome phylogeny, with subclade-specific patterns emerging. The number of tp0470 repeats is on average appears to be higher in Nichols-like clade strains than in SS14-like clade strains. Consistent with previous studies, we found that 14-repeat arp sequences predominate across bot

SUBMITTER: Lieberman NAP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9531955 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature