title: The complete genome, comparative and functional analysis of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia reveals an organism heavily shielded by drug resistance determinants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a nosocomial opportunistic pathogen of the Xanthomonadaceae. The organism has been isolated from both clinical and soil environments in addition to the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients and the immunocompromised. Whilst relatively distant phylogenetically, the closest sequenced relatives of S. maltophilia are the plant pathogenic xanthomonads.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The genome of the bacteremia-associated isolate S. maltophilia K279a is 4,851,126 bp and of high G+C content. The sequence reveals an organism with a remarkable capacity for drug and heavy metal resistance. In addition to a number of genes conferring resistance to antimicrobial drugs of different classes via alternative mechanisms, nine resistance-nodulation-division (RND)-type putative antimicrobial efflux systems are present. Functional genomic analysis confirms a role in drug resistance for several of the novel RND efflux pumps. S. maltophilia possesses potentially mobile regions of DNA and encodes a number of pili and fimbriae likely to be involved in adhesion and biofilm formation that may also contribute to increased antimicrobial drug resistance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The panoply of antimicrobial drug resistance genes and mobile genetic elements found suggests that the organism can act as a reservoir of antimicrobial drug resistance determinants in a clinical environment, which is an issue of considerable concern.
authors.affiliation: Pathogen Sequencing Unit, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Lisa C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Crossman
authors.forename: Virginia C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: J Maxwell
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dow
authors.forename: Georgios S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Vernikos
authors.forename: Aki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Okazaki
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sebaihia
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saunders
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arrowsmith
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Carver
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adlem
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kerhornou
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Katharine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seeger
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Squares
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rutter
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Quail
authors.forename: Mari-Adele
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rajandream
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Churcher
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkhill
authors.forename: Nicholas R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Avison
mesh_terms: D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics*; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000633:toxicity; D020615:Stenotrophomonas maltophilia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy