Putative virulence factors of Plesiomonas shigelloides.

Plesiomonas shigelloides is a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium which has been isolated from humans, animals and the environment. It has been associated with diarrhoeal disease in humans and various epizootic diseases in animals. In this study P. shigelloides strains were isolated from the faecal material of a captive Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis; YFP) living in semi-natural conditions in China. Plesiomonas shigelloides strain EE2 was subjected to whole genome sequencing. The draft genome was then compared to the genome sequences of ten other P. shigelloides isolates using the Pathosystems Resource Integration Center pipeline. In addition to several virulence factors which have been previously reported, we are proposing new candidate virulence factors such as a repeats-in-toxin protein, lysophospholipase, a twin-arginine translocation system and the type VI secretion effector Phospholipase A1.