Genome characterization of bile-isolated Shewanella algae ACCC.

Background: Shewanella algae has been recognized as an emerging human pathogen. However, not much is known about the mechanism of its pathogenesis and its adaptation to a special niche such as the hepatobiliary tract.

Results: In this study, we isolated the S. algae ACCC strain from human bile and performed whole genome sequencing. S. algae ACCC consists of a circular 4,743,354-bp chromosome with a GC content of 53.08%, within 4080 protein coding sequences. The genome of strain ACCC contains a number of candidate genes which have been reported to be associated with bile adaption, including htpB, exbBD , wecA , galU , adeFGH and phoPQ regulon.

Conclusions: Our results highlight the association of S. algae with a rare disease profile. Further studies are needed to shed light on the evolution of pathogenesis and the niche adaptation of S. algae .