AUTHOR=Han Maozhen , Liu Gang , Chen Yajun , Wang Dong , Zhang Yan 

TITLE=Comparative Genomics Uncovers the Genetic Diversity and Characters of Veillonella atypica and Provides Insights Into Its Potential Applications

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01219

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01219

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Veillonella atypica</italic> is a bacterium that is present in the gut and the oral cavity of mammals and plays diverse roles in different niches. A recent study demonstrated that <italic>Veillonella</italic> is highly associated with marathon running and approved that <italic>V. atypica</italic> gavage improves treadmill run time in mice, revealing that <italic>V. atypica</italic> has a high biotechnological potential in improving athlete performance. However, a comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity, function traits, and genome editing method of <italic>V. atypica</italic> remains elusive. In the present study, we conducted a systemically comparative analysis of the genetic datasets of nine <italic>V. atypica</italic> strains. The pan-genome of <italic>V. atypica</italic> consisted of 2,065 homologous clusters and exhibited an open pan-genome structure. A phylogenetic analysis of <italic>V. atypica</italic> with two different categories revealed that <italic>V. atypica</italic> OK5 was the most distant from the other eight <italic>V. atypica</italic> strains. A total of 43 orthologous genes were identified as CAZyme genes and grouped into 23 CAZyme families. The CAZyme components derived from accessory clusters contributed to the differences in the ability of the nine <italic>V. atypica</italic> strains to utilize carbohydrates. An integrated analysis of the metabolic pathways of <italic>V. atypica</italic> suggested that <italic>V. atypica</italic> strains harbored vancomycin resistance and were involved in several biosynthesis pathways of secondary metabolites. The <italic>V. atypica</italic> strains harbored four main <italic>Cas</italic> proteins, namely, CAS-Type IIIA, CAS-Type IIA, CAS-Type IIC, and CAS-Type IIID. This pilot study provides an in-depth understanding of and a fundamental knowledge about the biology of <italic>V. atypica</italic> that allow the possibility to increase the biotechnological potential of this bacterium.</p>