Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Birkir Þór Bragason
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: Tilraunastöð Háskóla Íslands í meinafræði að Keldum
Kynnir / Presenter: Birkir Þór Bragason
Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) affects salmonids and is caused by the Gram-positive bacteria Renibacterium salmoninarum (Rs) which is endemic in wild salmonids that inhabit Icelandic freshwater systems. The first case of BKD in Iceland was reported in 1968 in association with fish farming and the disease has since then occurred on a regular basis on fish farms in Iceland. This has been associated with the introduction of Rs into the farms via intake of freshwater from local water systems or contact with wild fish. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the genome of Icelandic Rs isolates and their relationship to Rs genomes of isolates that have been isolated in North America, Europe, and Chile. Whole genome sequencing was performed on 14 Icelandic Rs isolates both short-read (all isolates) and PacBio long-read (7 isolates). Raw whole genome sequencing data for 109 Rs isolates from Europe, North America, and Chiles was obtained from the European Nucleotide Archive. The sequencing data were analysed by alignment to the Rs reference strain as well as by de novo genome assembly. The Icelandic isolates form a separate lineage within the species. The talk will focus on structural variations in the Icelandic genomes, compared to isolates from other geographic regions, as well as phylogenetic dating of their most recent ancestor.