Comprehensive Analysis Reveals the Evolution and Pathogenicity of Aeromonas , Viewed from Both Single Isolated Species and Microbial Communities

• Published in: mSystems Vol. 4; no. 5
• Main Authors: Zhong, Chaofang, Han, Maozhen, Yang, Pengshuo, Chen, Chaoyun, Yu, Hui, Wang, Lusheng, Ning, Kang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 22-10-2019
• Subjects: Aeromonas; Antibiotics; Bioinformatics; Divergence; Drug resistance; Ecological and Evolutionary Science; Evolution; Evolutionary genetics; Gene families; Gene transfer; Genes; Genetic diversity; Genomes; Identification; Infections; Laboratories; Microbiomes; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Phylogenetics; Species; Taxonomy; Trends; Virulence factors; China; pan-genome; pathogenicity; evolution; Aeromonas
• ISSN: 2379-5077; 2379-5077
• DOI: 10.1128/mSystems.00252-19

The genus
is a common gastrointestinal pathogen associated with human and animal infections. Due to the high level of cross-species similarity, their evolutionary dynamics and genetic diversity are still fragmented. Hereby, we investigated the pan-genomes of 29
species, as well as
species in microbial communities, to clarify their evolutionary dynamics and genetic diversity, with special focus on virulence factors and horizontal gene transfer events. Our study revealed an open pan-genome of
containing 10,144 gene families. These
species exhibited different functional constraints, with the single-copy core genes and most accessory genes experiencing purifying selection. The significant congruence between core genome and pan-genome trees revealed that core genes mainly affected evolutionary divergences of
species. Gene gains and losses revealed a high level of genome plasticity, exhibited by hundreds of gene expansions and contractions, horizontally transferred genes, and mobile genetic elements. The selective constraints shaped virulence gene pools of these
strains, where genes encoding hemolysin were ubiquitous. Of these strains,
MX16A seemed to be more resistant, as it harbored most resistance genes. Finally, the virulence factors of
in microbial communities were quite dynamic in response to environment changes. For example, the virulence diversity of
in microbial communities could reach levels that match some of the most virulent
species (such as
) in penetrated-air and modified-air packaging. Our work shed some light onto genetic diversity, evolutionary history, and functional features of
, which could facilitate the detection and prevention of infections.
has long been known as a gastrointestinal pathogen, yet it has many species whose evolutionary dynamics and genetic diversity had been unclear until now. We have conducted pan-genome analysis for 29
species and revealed a high level of genome plasticity exhibited by hundreds of gene expansions and contractions, horizontally transferred genes, and mobile genetic elements. These species also contained many virulence factors both identified from single isolated species and microbial community. This pan-genome study could elevate the level for detection and prevention of
infections.