Abstract
Rhodococcus defluvii strain Ca11T was isolated from a bioreactor involved in extensive phosphorus removal. We have sequenced the whole genome of this strain, and our comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses confirm its close relatedness with Rhodococcus equi (Rhodococcus hoagii) strains, which share >80 % of the gene content. The R. equi virulence plasmid is absent though most of the chromosomal R. equi virulence-associated genes are present in R. defluvii Ca11T. These data suggest that although R. defluvii is an environmental organism, it has the potential to colonize animal hosts.
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Acknowledgments
Vartul Sangal is supported by an Anniversary Research Fellowship from Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne. The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. We also thank NU-OMICS facility for assistance in genome sequencing and J. Gibson for IT assistance.
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Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.
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Sangal, V., Jones, A.L., Goodfellow, M. et al. Genomic analyses confirm close relatedness between Rhodococcus defluvii and Rhodococcus equi (Rhodococcus hoagii). Arch Microbiol 197, 113–116 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-014-1060-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-014-1060-5