Genotypic characterization of Streptococcus didelphis causative of fatal infection in white-eared opossums

Abstract

Abstract Streptococcus didelphis was once reported as related to severe infections in opossums. Thus, we present the first comprehensive whole-genome characterization of clinical S. didelphis strains isolated from white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris). Long-read whole-genome sequencing was performed using the MinION platform, which allowed the prediction of several genomic features. We observed that S. didelphis genomes harbor a cluster for streptolysin biosynthesis and a conserved genomic island with genes involved in transcriptional regulation (arlR) and transmembrane transport (bcrA). Antimicrobial resistance genes for several drug classes were found, including beta-lactam, which is the main antimicrobial class used in Streptococcus spp. infections; however, no phenotypical resistance was observed. In addition, we predicted the presence of 33 virulence factors in the analyzed genomes. High phylogenetic similarity was observed between clinical and reference strains, yet no clonality was suggested. We also proposed dnaN, gki, pros, and xpt as housekeeping candidates to be used in S. didelphis sequence typing. This is the first whole-genome characterization of S. didelphis, whose data provide important insights into its pathogenicity.