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      Comparative review of Francisella tularensis and Francisella novicida

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          Abstract

          Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of the acute disease tularemia. Due to its extreme infectivity and ability to cause disease upon inhalation, F. tularensis has been classified as a biothreat agent. Two subspecies of F. tularensis, tularensis and holarctica, are responsible for tularemia in humans. In comparison, the closely related species F. novicida very rarely causes human illness and cases that do occur are associated with patients who are immune compromised or have other underlying health problems. Virulence between F. tularensis and F. novicida also differs in laboratory animals. Despite this varying capacity to cause disease, the two species share ~97% nucleotide identity, with F. novicida commonly used as a laboratory surrogate for F. tularensis. As the F. novicida U112 strain is exempt from U.S. select agent regulations, research studies can be carried out in non-registered laboratories lacking specialized containment facilities required for work with virulent F. tularensis strains. This review is designed to highlight phenotypic (clinical, ecological, virulence, and pathogenic) and genomic differences between F. tularensis and F. novicida that warrant maintaining F. novicida and F. tularensis as separate species. Standardized nomenclature for F. novicida is critical for accurate interpretation of experimental results, limiting clinical confusion between F. novicida and F. tularensis and ensuring treatment efficacy studies utilize virulent F. tularensis strains.

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          Most cited references128

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          Report of the ad hoc committee for the re-evaluation of the species definition in bacteriology.

          An ad hoc committee for the re-evaluation of the species definition in bacteriology met in Gent, Belgium, in February 2002. The committee made various recommendations regarding the species definition in the light of developments in methodologies available to systematists.
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            Microbial minimalism: genome reduction in bacterial pathogens.

            When bacterial lineages make the transition from free-living or facultatively parasitic life cycles to permanent associations with hosts, they undergo a major loss of genes and DNA. Complete genome sequences are providing an understanding of how extreme genome reduction affects evolutionary directions and metabolic capabilities of obligate pathogens and symbionts.
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              Insights into the evolution of Yersinia pestis through whole-genome comparison with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

              Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a highly uniform clone that diverged recently from the enteric pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Despite their close genetic relationship, they differ radically in their pathogenicity and transmission. Here, we report the complete genomic sequence of Y. pseudotuberculosis IP32953 and its use for detailed genome comparisons with available Y. pestis sequences. Analyses of identified differences across a panel of Yersinia isolates from around the world reveal 32 Y. pestis chromosomal genes that, together with the two Y. pestis-specific plasmids, to our knowledge, represent the only new genetic material in Y. pestis acquired since the the divergence from Y. pseudotuberculosis. In contrast, 149 other pseudogenes (doubling the previous estimate) and 317 genes absent from Y. pestis were detected, indicating that as many as 13% of Y. pseudotuberculosis genes no longer function in Y. pestis. Extensive insertion sequence-mediated genome rearrangements and reductive evolution through massive gene loss, resulting in elimination and modification of preexisting gene expression pathways, appear to be more important than acquisition of genes in the evolution of Y. pestis. These results provide a sobering example of how a highly virulent epidemic clone can suddenly emerge from a less virulent, closely related progenitor.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Front Cell Infect Microbiol
                Front Cell Infect Microbiol
                Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
                Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                2235-2988
                13 March 2014
                2014
                : 4
                : 35
                Affiliations
                Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fort Collins, CO, USA
                Author notes

                Edited by: Max Maurin, Université Aix-Marseille II, France

                Reviewed by: Andrey P. Anisimov, State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Russia; Max Maurin, Université Aix-Marseille II, France

                *Correspondence: Jeannine M. Petersen, Division of Vector-Borne Disease, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3150 Rampart Road, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA e-mail: nzp0@ 123456cdc.gov

                This article was submitted to the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

                Article
                10.3389/fcimb.2014.00035
                3952080
                24660164
                587be027-322a-4274-9be4-7a604bcd87ad
                Copyright © 2014 Kingry and Petersen.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 12 December 2013
                : 22 February 2014
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 1, Equations: 0, References: 147, Pages: 12, Words: 12594
                Categories
                Microbiology
                Review Article

                Infectious disease & Microbiology
                tularemia,francisella tularensis,francisella novicida,intracellular pathogen,virulence

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