Genome-wide diversity and differentiation of two novel multidrug-resistant populations ofPasteurella multocidatype B:2 from fowl cholera

Abstract

ABSTRACTPasteurella multocidais the etiologic agent of fowl cholera (FC), a highly contagious and severe disease in poultry with higher mortality and morbidity. Twenty-twoP. multocidastrains isolated from the FC outbreaks were subjected to phenotypic and genotypic characterization. The isolates were grouped into two distinct RAPD biotypes harboring a range of pathogenic genes;exbB,ompH,ptfA,nanB,sodC, andhgbA. Among these strains, 90.90% and 36.37% were multidrug-resistant and strong biofilm formers, respectively. Whole genome sequencing of the two representative RAPD isolates confirmed asP. multocida typeB:L2:ST122 harboring a number of virulence factors, and antimicrobial resistance genes. Pan-genome analysis revealed 90 unique genes in these genomes associated with versatile metabolic functions, pathogenicity, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance. This study for the first time reports the association ofP. multocidagenotype B:L2:ST122 in the pathogenesis of FC, and provides a genetic context for future researches onP. multocidastrains.