Mapping genetic and phenotypic diversity of across clinical and environmental isolation sites.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Authors
Abstract

is a clinically significant opportunistic pathogen adept at thriving in both host-associated and environmental settings. To define the extent to which isolates specialize across niches and identify genotype-phenotype correlates, we performed whole genome sequencing and comprehensive phenotypic characterization of 125 isolates from diverse clinical and environmental sites, evaluating virulence-associated traits, including motility, cytotoxicity, biofilm formation, pyocyanin production, and antimicrobial susceptibility. We identify that genomic diversity does not correlate with isolation source or most virulence phenotypes. Instead, we find that the two major clades (Groups A and B) delineate phylogeny and cytotoxicity, with Group B strains showing significantly higher cytotoxicity than Group A. Sequence analysis revealed previously uncharacterized alleles of genes encoding type III secretion effector proteins. We observed high variability amongst strains and isolation sources in all four assayed virulence phenotypes. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is exclusively observed in clinical isolates, not environmental, reflecting antibiotic exposure-driven selection. Bacterial GWAS revealed a statistically significant association between cytotoxicity and presence, and we identified a novel allelic variant with decreased cytotoxicity, demonstrating that functional diversity within well-characterized virulence factors may still influence pathogenic outcomes. In summary, our analyses of 125 diverse isolates suggest that the ability of to thrive across diverse niches is driven by broadly conserved genetic repertoire rather than niche-specific accessory genes.

Year of Publication
2025
Journal
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Date Published
09/2025
ISSN
2692-8205
DOI
10.1101/2025.09.22.677895
PubMed ID
41040319
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