The genome sequence of Bacillus anthracis Ames and comparison to closely related bacteria.
Bacillus anthracis is an endospore-forming bacterium that causes inhalational anthrax. Key virulence genes are found on plasmids (extra-chromosomal, circular, double-stranded DNA molecules) pXO1 (ref. 2) and pXO2 (ref. 3). To identify additional genes that might contribute to virulence, we analysed the complete sequence of the chromosome of B. anthracis Ames (about 5.23 megabases). We found several chromosomally encoded proteins that may contribute to pathogenicity--including haemolysins, phospholipases and iron acquisition functions--and identified numerous surface proteins that might be important targets for vaccines and drugs. Almost all these putative chromosomal virulence and surface proteins have homologues in Bacillus cereus, highlighting the similarity of B. anthracis to near-neighbours that are not associated with anthrax. By performing a comparative genome hybridization of 19 B. cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis strains against a B. anthracis DNA microarray, we confirmed the general similarity of chromosomal genes among this group of close relatives. However, we found that the gene sequences of pXO1 and pXO2 were more variable between strains, suggesting plasmid mobility in the group. The complete sequence of B. anthracis is a step towards a better understanding of anthrax pathogenesis.
The Institute for Genomic Research, 9712 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA. anthrax@tigr.org).
Timothy D
TD
Read
Scott N
SN
Peterson
Nicolas
N
Tourasse
Les W
LW
Baillie
Ian T
IT
Paulsen
Karen E
KE
Nelson
Hervé
H
Tettelin
Derrick E
DE
Fouts
Jonathan A
JA
Eisen
Steven R
SR
Gill
Erik K
EK
Holtzapple
Ole Andreas
OA
Okstad
Erlendur
E
Helgason
Jennifer
J
Rilstone
Martin
M
Wu
James F
JF
Kolonay
Maureen J
MJ
Beanan
Robert J
RJ
Dodson
Lauren M
LM
Brinkac
Michelle
M
Gwinn
Robert T
RT
DeBoy
Ramana
R
Madpu
Sean C
SC
Daugherty
A Scott
AS
Durkin
Daniel H
DH
Haft
William C
WC
Nelson
Jeremy D
JD
Peterson
Mihai
M
Pop
Hoda M
HM
Khouri
Diana
D
Radune
Jonathan L
JL
Benton
Yasmin
Y
Mahamoud
Lingxia
L
Jiang
Ioana R
IR
Hance
Janice F
JF
Weidman
Kristi J
KJ
Berry
Roger D
RD
Plaut
Alex M
AM
Wolf
Kisha L
KL
Watkins
William C
WC
Nierman
Alyson
A
Hazen
Robin
R
Cline
Caroline
C
Redmond
Joanne E
JE
Thwaite
Owen
O
White
Steven L
SL
Salzberg
Brendan
B
Thomason
Arthur M
AM
Friedlander
Theresa M
TM
Koehler
Philip C
PC
Hanna
Anne-Brit
AB
Kolstø
Claire M
CM
Fraser
D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012329:RNA, Bacterial