Work

Lipopolysaccharide biosynthetic locus as a source of clonal variation in Legionella pneumophila isolates associated with the outbreak in Japan

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Some genomic subtypes of Legionella pneumophila exist in the environment that cause outbreaks. We examined how the clonal strains diverged through changes in their genomic structures using isolates associated with similar Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns reported in the previous outbreak, serogroup (SG) 1 and SG13. The complete genomes for eight L. pneumophila SG1 and SG13 isolates were determined, and their genome structures were compared. A comparison of the complete genomes showed that these isolates had highly similar sequences, except for the region containing the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthetic locus, and IS1182 elements were present at both ends of the LPS biosynthetic locus in the SG1 isolates. We deduced that the SG13 isolates transformed into the SG1 isolates through recombination at the LPS biosynthetic locus involving IS1182 elements. It is important to consider the possibility that isolates associated with an outbreak of Legionella bacteria, despite having differing SGs, might be genetically related.

Source: Scientific Reports

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-57765-y

Authors: Naoki Nakajima, Michio Jinnai, Aya Okamura

Institutions: Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Public Health, National Institute of Health Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Legionella and Acanthamoeba research

Subfield: Endocrinology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,690