Project description:With the aid of a biochip, carrying representative sequences from approximately 2200 sequences from the genome of isolate 9a5c from X. fastidiosa (Xf), microarray-based comparisons have been performed with 8 different Xf isolates obtained from coffee plants.
Project description:Fusobacterium polymorphum has been implicated in oral squamous cell carcinoma, yet its ubiquitous presence in healthy individuals complicates its role as a disease driver and raises the possibility that some clinical isolates may possess greater pathogenic potential than others. To explore potential functional differences among isolates, we performed transcriptomic profiling of F. polymorphum strains obtained from across the oral epithelial disease spectrum. Despite being genetically indistinguishable, isolates derived from dysplastic lesions exhibited distinct transcriptional signatures, including significant upregulation of genes involved in heme uptake compared with isolates from healthy sites. These findings suggest that transcriptional heterogeneity among clinical isolates may contribute to functional differences that could influence their pathogenic potential.
Project description:A comparative genomic approach was used to identify large sequence polymorphisms among Mycobacterium avium isolates obtained from a variety of host species. DNA microarrays were used as a platform for comparing mycobacteria field isolates with the sequenced bovine isolate Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) K10. ORFs were classified as present or divergent based on the relative fluorescent intensities of the experimental samples compared to Map K10 DNA. Map isolates cultured from cattle, bison, sheep, goat, avian, and human sources were hybridized to the Map microarray. Three large deletions were observed in the genomes of four Map isolates obtained from sheep and four clusters of ORFs homologous to sequences in the Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium (Maa) 104 genome were identified as being present in these isolates. One of these clusters encodes glycopeptidolipid biosynthesis enzymes. One of the Map sheep isolates had a genome profile similar to a group of Mycobacterium avium subsp. silvaticum (Mas) isolates which included four independent laboratory stocks of the organism traditionally identified as Maa strain 18. Genome diversity in Map appears to be mostly restricted to large sequence polymorphisms that are often associated with mobile genetic elements. Keywords: Comparative genomic hybridization
