Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections and is currently reported to be a worldwide nosocomial menace. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological traits and the distribution of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs)-producing P. aeruginosa clinical isolates in ten cities in China between January 2010 and May 2012. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by disc diffusion assay and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of imipenem and meropenem were also determined by the Etest according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. In addition, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing were applied to detect bla MBL genes, and their epidemiological relationships were investigated by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Of 368 P. aeruginosa isolates, MLST analysis identified 138 sequence types (STs), including 122 known and 16 novel STs, and the most frequently detected clone was ST244, followed by ST235. Besides, our study revealed that 25 isolates carried the bla IMP-6 gene and three isolates carried the bla VIM-2 gene, and a probe specific for both genes could be hybridised to an ~1,125-kb fragment in all isolates. Interestingly, all of the bla IMP-6-producing isolates shared an identical ST, ST244, and exhibited a higher level of resistance to several antibiotics. Overall, these observations suggest that P. aeruginosa ST244 carrying the chromosomally located bla IMP-6 gene is widely disseminated in multiple cites in China.

Aspergillus flavus is a haploid filamentous fungus that is common in the environment and has been implicated in human infections. The complete mitochondrial genome of A. flavus has been determined by high-throughput sequencing technology in this work. Our study revealed that the mitochondrial genome of A. flavus is 31,602 bp long, with an A + T content of 74.83%, which consists of a usual set of mitochondrial proteins and RNA genes, including large and small ribosomal RNAs, 15 proteins, and 20 tRNA genes and contains two introns. Notably, it also contains two hypothetical proteins without obvious homology to any known proteins. All structural genes are located on one strand and are apparently transcribed in one direction. Codon usage analysis indicated that all protein coding genes employ the standard fungal mitochondrial start and stop codons; and the nucleotide bias toward AT was also reflected in the codon usage. The complete mitochondrial genomes of A. flavus would be useful for future investigation of the genetic, evolution, and clinical identification of Aspergillus species.

Acinetobacter spp. are one of the most prevalent opportunistic pathogens causing nosocomial infections and have become a major clinical and public health threat.

No abstract

The draft genome sequence of “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” strain TX1712, obtained from a Texas citrus tree, is reported here. Strain TX1712 has a draft genome size of 1,203,333 bp, a G+C content of 36.4%, 1,230 predicted open reading frames, and 41 RNAs and comprises 97.4% of the psy62 reference genome.