Clinical and genomic features of Corynebacterium macginleyi-associated infectious keratitis

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 6015
• Main Authors: Sagerfors, Susanna, Poehlein, Anja, Afshar, Mastaneh, Lindblad, Birgitta Ejdervik, Brüggemann, Holger, Söderquist, Bo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 16-03-2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326; 692/4017; 692/699; Amniotic membrane; Commensals; Cornea; Corynebacterium; Genomes; Genomic analysis; Genomic islands; Genomics; Humanities and Social Sciences; Keratitis; multidisciplinary; Pathogens; Population structure; Risk factors; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Ulcers; Whole genome sequencing
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85336-w

Infectious keratitis is a potentially sight threatening ophthalmological emergency. Contact lens wear is a common risk factor. Diagnostic advances such as MALDI-TOF MS provides new insights into the spectrum of corneal pathogens and on microbes previously considered as commensals.
Corynebacterium macginleyi
was described in 1995, and in 2018, the genomic features of three isolates were reported after whole-genome sequencing. Here we describe the clinical characteristics of patients with infectious keratitis (n = 29) presumably caused by
Corynebacterium macginleyi
, and analyze the genomic features of
C. macginleyi
(n = 22) isolated from the corneal ulcers of these patients. The disease course was uneventful apart from minor interventions such as corneal cross-linking and amniotic membrane transplant. Genome sequencing and comparison revealed a highly conserved core genome of
C. macginleyi
. Based on the analyses of single nucleotide polymorphisms, the population could be divided into two main clades that also differed in a few clade-specific genomic islands. Patients infected with an isolate belonging to the minor clade (n = 7) presented a more severe disease. Comparisons with other corynebacterial species clearly separated
C. macginleyi
.
C. macginleyi
may be considered a corneal pathogen; genomic analysis provided insights into its population structure and disease-causing potential.