ARS | Publication request: SEQUENCING AND PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF THE GENOME OF LEPTOSPIRA BORGPETERSENII SEROVAR HARDJOBOVIS

Submitted to: International Leptospirosis Society Meeting Abstracts and Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 28, 2002
Publication Date: November 28, 2002
Citation: Bulach, D., Wilson, P., Mcgrath, A., Kuczek, E., Coppel, R., Davies, J., Rood, J., Zuerner, R.L., Adler, B. 2002. Sequencing and preliminary analysis of the genome of leptospira borgpetersenii serovar hardjobovis [abstract]. International Leptospirosis Society Meeting Abstracts and Proceedings. p. 33.

Technical Abstract: A recent isolate from a confirmed case of human leptospirosis was re-isolated from a single colony on solid medium and used as the type strain for this sequencing project. The sequencing strain was shown to be identical to the Type A stains of L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjobovis. The strategy used for sequencing has involved the cloning of mechanically sheared genomic DNA into standard low and high copy number E. coli cloning vectors; the average insert size for these libraries was found to be 2.6 kb. Over 30,000 sequencing reactions have been required for the random sequencing phase of this project. Determining the sequence of the genome of any organism provides the opportunity to use a more streamlined approach to molecular investigations and facilitates a whole organism approach to research. The annotation of the features encoded on the genome is essential to these approaches. In the period before the complete sequence becomes available for annotation, there is an opportunity to screen the incomplete leptospiral sequences for genes that may play a role in pathogenesis. In addition to providing a brief overview of the sequencing project, this paper will provide an outline of the strategy of similarity searching that has been used to identify a number of leptospiral genes encoding proteins with potential roles in pathogenesis.