Dissecting_the_genetic_basis_of_melioidosis_infection_I-sc-6075
Dissecting_the_genetic_basis_of_melioidosis_infection_I
Melioidosis is a rapidly progressing and frequently fatal disease caused by a soil bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp). Healthy individuals living in disease hotspots such as northeast Thailand develop serological evidence of exposure from early childhood. However, not all exposure leads to disease and infections can have variable outcomes, suggesting that there may be bacterial, host or environmental components that influence disease acquisition and severity.   The first part of our project  (Dissecting the genetic basis of melioidosis infection I) aims to identify Bp genetic factors that determine disease severity. As diabetes mellitus is a major predisposing risk factor for melioidosis, we will also test whether the bacterial factors are modulated by host diabetic status. This newly sequenced collection of 950 Bp strains will be combined with existing data to make a combined dataset of >2,000 Bp strains. A better understanding of bacterial factors and their interaction with host diabetic status could improve our ability to manage this disease.  This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/
Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp) is an environmental bacterium and a causative agent for melioidosis, an infection that can be rapidly fatal. Humans can acquire Bp through direct contact with contaminated soil or water, yet not all exposure results in disease. We hypothesise that genetic variations in both bacteria and host may contribute to whether individuals would develop the disease and how severe the disease is. Moreover, people with diabetes are more susceptible to developing melioidosis. For each genetic variant, we will investigate how patient diabetic status would modulate disease severity.