Background: Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosisis generally regarded as an important animal pathogen that rarely infects humans. Clinical strains are occasionally recovered from human cases of lymphadenitis, such asC. pseudotuberculosisFRC41 that was isolated from the inguinal lymph node of a 12-year-old girl with necrotizing lymphadenitis. To detect potential virulence factors and corresponding gene-regulatory networks in this human isolate, the genome sequence ofC. pseudotuberculosisFCR41 was determined by pyrosequencing and functionally annotated.Results: Sequencing and assembly of theC. pseudotuberculosisFRC41 genome yielded a circular chromosome with a size of 2,337,913 bp and a mean G+C content of 52.2%. Specific gene sets associated with iron and zinc homeostasis were detected among the 2,110 predicted protein-coding regions and integrated into a gene-regulatory network that is linked with both the central metabolism and the oxidative stress response of FRC41. Two gene clusters encode proteins involved in the sortase-mediated polymerization of adhesive pili that can probably mediate the adherence to host tissue to facilitate additional ligand-receptor interactions and the delivery of virulence factors. The prominent virulence factors phospholipase D (Pld) and corynebacterial protease CP40 are encoded in the genome of this human isolate. The genome annotation revealed additional serine proteases, neuraminidase H, nitric oxide reductase, an invasion-associated protein, and acyl-CoA carboxylase subunits involved in mycolic acid biosynthesis as potential virulence factors. The cAMP-sensing transcription regulator GlxR plays a key role in controlling the expression of several genes contributing to virulence.Conclusion: The functional data deduced from the genome sequencing and the extended knowledge of virulence factors indicate that the human isolateC. pseudotuberculosisFRC41 is equipped with a distinct gene set promoting its survival under unfavorable environmental conditions encountered in the mammalian host.

Pertussis is routinely diagnosed with real-time PCR based on insertion sequence IS 481 , which is not specific for Bordetella pertussis . We conducted a retrospective study using real-time PCRs specific for Bordetella pertussis and for Bordetella holmesii on 177 samples positive for IS 481 PCR. Bordetella holmesii DNA was detected in 20.3% samples collected from adolescents and adults.

A macrolide antimicrobial drug was administered to a newborn with cough. On day 23 of hospitalization, macrolide-resistant Bordetella pertussis was isolated from nasopharyngeal aspirates. DNA sequencing and PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism showed a 2047 A-to-G mutation in the 3 copies of the 23S rRNA gene. Monitoring for macrolide resistance is essential in infants <6 months of age.

Bordetella pertussis is a human-specific pathogen that causes whooping cough. The use of pertussis whole-cell vaccines in infants and toddlers led to