The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a closely-related group of bacteria, the accurate identification of which is essential in both the context of clinical epidemiology, and in terms of tracking and tracing in industry, where they can appear as industrial contaminants.
More...The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a closely-related group of bacteria, the accurate identification of which is essential in both the context of clinical epidemiology, and in terms of tracking and tracing in industry, where they can appear as industrial contaminants. Bcc species are problematic industrial contaminants due to their intrinsic antimicrobial resistance, which enables them to overcome preservation systems under the correct conditions. Previous studies have shown that Burkholderia lata and Burkholderia contaminans are amongst the most frequently encountered Bcc bacteria with regard to industrial contamination. Both aforementioned species were established as a part of a group of species known collectively as Group K or Taxon K, based upon analysis of the recA gene, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and limited whole genome analysis over a decade ago. In this study, we detail a simple yet effective genomic workflow, making use of Average Nucleotide Identity and core-gene analysis, that can be used by industry and clinicians alike to provide accurate taxonomic characterisation of Bcc species. We use this same workflow to taxonomically classify a panel of 25 Burkholderia Taxon K strains, isolated from historical contamination incidents. Finally, we illustrate that genomics allows the discrimination of multiple species subgroups within Taxon K which do not resolve using MLST, and successfully reclassify 13 Taxon K isolates historically identified as B. lata by MLST as novel species.
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