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The Gram-negative beta-proteobacterium Zoogloea sp. LCSB751 (LMG 29444) was newly isolated from foaming activated sludge of a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Here, we describe its draft genome sequence and annotation together with a general physiological and genomic analysis, as the first sequenced representative of the Zoogloea genus. Moreover, Zoogloea sp. gene expression in its environment is described using metatranscriptomic data obtained from the same treatment plant. The presented genomic and transcriptomic information demonstrate a pronounced capacity of this genus to synthesize poly-ß-hydroxyalkanoate within wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cryptococcus gattii has been the cause of an ongoing outbreak starting in 1999 on Vancouver Island, British Columbia and spreading to mainland Canada and the US Pacific Northwest. In the course of the outbreak, C. gattii has been identified outside of its previously documented climate, habitat, and host disease. Genotyping of C. gattii is essential to understand the ecological and geographical expansion of this emerging pathogen. Methods We developed and validated a mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA) real-time PCR panel for genotyping C. gattii molecular types VGI-VGIV and VGII subtypes a,b,c. Subtype assays were designed based on whole-genome sequence of 20 C. gattii strains. Publically available multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data from a study of 202 strains was used for the molecular type (VGI-VGIV) assay design. All assays were validated across DNA from 112 strains of diverse international origin and sample types, including animal, environmental and human. Results Validation revealed each assay on the panel is 100% sensitive, specific and concordant with MLST. The assay panel can detect down to 0.5 picograms of template DNA. Conclusions The (MAMA) real-time PCR panel for C. gattii accurately typed a collection of 112 diverse strains and demonstrated high sensitivity. This is a time and cost efficient method of genotyping C. gattii best suited for application in large-scale epidemiological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]