title: Comparative genomics of Riemerella anatipestifer reveals genetic diversity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Riemerella anatipestifer is one of the most important pathogens of ducks. However, the molecular mechanisms of R. anatipestifer infection are poorly understood. In particular, the lack of genomic information from a variety of R. anatipestifer strains has proved severely limiting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study, we present the complete genomes of two R. anatipestifer strains, RA-CH-1 (2,309,519 bp, Genbank accession CP003787) and RA-CH-2 (2,166,321 bp, Genbank accession CP004020). Both strains are from isolates taken from two different sick ducks in the SiChuang province of China. A comparative genomics approach was used to identify similarities and key differences between RA-CH-1 and RA-CH-2 and the previously sequenced strain RA-GD, a clinical isolate from GuangDong, China, and ATCC11845.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The genomes of RA-CH-2 and RA-GD were extremely similar, while RA-CH-1 was significantly different than ATCC11845. RA-CH-1 is 140,000 bp larger than the three other strains and has 16 unique gene families. Evolutionary analysis shows that RA-CH-1 and RA-CH-2 are closed and in a branch with ATCC11845, while RA-GD is located in another branch. Additionally, the detection of several iron/heme-transport related proteins and motility mechanisms will be useful in elucidating factors important in pathogenicity. This information will allow a better understanding of the phenotype of different R. anatipestifer strains and molecular mechanisms of infection.
authors.forename: Xiaojia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Dekang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: LinFeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: MaFeng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Sanjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Avian Disease Research Center, College of Veterinary Medicine of Sichuan Agricultural University, 46# Xinkang Road, Ya'an, Sichuan 625014, P,R, China. mshwang@163.com.
authors.forename: MingShu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: RenYong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: KunFeng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Anchun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Xiaoyue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003062:Codon; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D054643:INDEL Mutation; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D060494:Riemerella / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D003062:Codon