Cultivation and molecular characterization of complete genome sequences of M. pneumoniae isolated in Russia

Abstract

Objective. In 2023–2014, a significant increase in the incidence of pneumonia caused by M. pneumoniae has been reported in Russia and China. Despite being one of the primary causative agents of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections in children, due to the difficulties in obtaining a culture of this pathogen, the amount of genomic data on M. pneumoniae is currently extremely limited, with fewer than 300 genomic sequences available, of which only 79 are complete. Until this study, no genomic data for isolates relevant to the Russian Federation were available. Materials and Methods. Using biological material from patients with confirmed mycoplasma infection, cultures of M. pneumoniae were obtained, for which whole-genome sequencing was carried out, followed by assembly and annotation of the pathogen genome. Results. We have obtained and characterized three complete circular genome sequences of M. pneumoniae, first described for Russia. Utilizing all genomic sequences of M. pneumoniae available in public databases, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis as well as a comparative analysis of clinically significant genes, revealing previously undescribed mutations in cytoadherence proteins. Conclusions. In this study, we characterized the first full genome sequences of M. pneumoniae isolated in the Russian Federation, as well as provided detailed methods for cultivating the pathogen and the data processing process, which can be used to further expand the amount of available data on the genetic structure of the pathogen.