title: The draft genome of Mycobacterium aurum, a potential model organism for investigating drugs against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae.
abstract: Mycobacterium aurum (M. aurum) is an environmental mycobacteria that has previously been used in studies of anti-mycobacterial drugs due to its fast growth rate and low pathogenicity. The M. aurum genome has been sequenced and assembled into 46 contigs, with a total length of 6.02Mb containing 5684 annotated protein-coding genes. A phylogenetic analysis using whole genome alignments positioned M. aurum close to Mycobacterium vaccae and Mycobacterium vanbaalenii, within a clade related to fast-growing mycobacteria. Large-scale genomic rearrangements were identified by comparing the M. aurum genome to those of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae. M. aurum orthologous genes implicated in resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs in M. tuberculosis were observed. The sequence identity at the DNA level varied from 68.6% for pncA (pyrazinamide drug-related) to 96.2% for rrs (streptomycin, capreomycin). We observed two homologous genes encoding the catalase-peroxidase enzyme (katG) that is associated with resistance to isoniazid. Similarly, two embB homologues were identified in the M. aurum genome. In addition to describing for the first time the genome of M. aurum, this work provides a resource to aid the use of M. aurum in studies to develop improved drugs for the pathogenic mycobacteria M. tuberculosis and M. leprae.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: jody.phelan@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jody
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Phelan
authors.affiliation: Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Arundhati
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maitra
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McNerney
authors.affiliation: Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mridul
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Antima
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Coll
authors.affiliation: Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Arnab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pain
authors.affiliation: Mycobacteria Research Laboratory, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sanjib
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhakta
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Taane G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015195:Drug Design; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000187:drug effects*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D010430:Pentosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D010544:Peroxidases / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010544:Peroxidases; C081610:catalase-peroxidase, bacteria; C540269:EmbB protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D010430:Pentosyltransferases
keywords: Drug screening; Genome; M. aurum; M. leprae; M. tuberculosis; Mycobacteria