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Whole-Genome Sequencing and Comparative Genome Analysis: a pangenome approach to understand the population diversity within the water system of large occupational buildings
Citation:
Gomez-Alvarez, V., L. Boczek, E. Huff, D. King, A. Pemberton, S. Pfaller, M. Rodgers, J. Santo Domingo, AND R. Revetta. Whole-Genome Sequencing and Comparative Genome Analysis: a pangenome approach to understand the population diversity within the water system of large occupational buildings. Presented at Legionella Conference 2019, Los Angeles, CA, September 11 - 13, 2019.
Impact/Purpose:
Public health data shows that a significant fraction of the nation’s waterborne disease outbreaks (e.g. Legionnaires’ disease) in drinking water distribution system (DWDS) is attributable to premise plumbing (PP) systems. Very little information is available about the microbial occurrence within the water system of occupational buildings. It is important to understand the characteristics of these systems which amplify the potential public health risk relative to the DWDS. The water quality in PP is not monitored by U.S. EPA regulations except for the Lead and Copper Rule. The purpose of this research is to determine how and why these opportunistic waterborne pathogens can persist within PP systems and how to implement effective water management plans to mitigate exposure risks to PP pathogens.
Description:
The emergence and development of next-generation sequencing technologies (NGS) made the reconstruction of environmental bacterial genomes much accessible and opens new perspectives in microbial ecology studies. NGS technology provide information on organism detection, identity, virulence- and antimicrobial-associated genes, and genetic relatedness with a high degree of discrimination within species. Furthermore, this technology has the potential to provide information about the underlying mechanisms involved in microbial persistence in built environments. Enrichments in accessory genes under specific conditions may represent adaptation to the environment. Many waterborne pathogens colonize and persist in building water systems despite disinfection strategies that aim to mitigate their presence. Here we present the pangenome characterization of Legionella pneumophila from hot water lines of adjacent large occupational buildings. L. pneumophila is a Gram-negative bacterium and is the major causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease, in which serogroup 1 has been implicated in most cases associated with built environments. Results show that the water system has been colonized by two sequence types (STs) with evidence for spatial structuring of the population throughout locations and within their respective hot water systems, suggesting that the population is influenced by environmental conditions. Genomic analysis confirmed the presence of the lpeAB genes encoding a macrolide efflux pump, which confers reduced sensitivity to azithromycin. Overall, a pangenome approach provide an ecological insight of the microbial population and the potential risk associated with Legionella.