Cockroaches are omnivorous insects that harbour a rich and complex gut microbiota, similar in some characteristics to human gut microbiota. In fact, they are considered a natural reservoir of human pathogens, some of which can contain antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that can be transferred to humans, and its characterization may be relevant for biomedical research. Our group has been working for more than a decade with the German cockroach Blattella germanica as a symbiotic model system. In a previous experiment, we isolated from its hindgut a bacterium identified as belonging to genus Enterococcus which presented sensitivity to several antibiotics. We have carried out its genome project using a PacBio platform, in order to assign it a taxonomic status, study its genomic structure and evolution, and deduce its potential pathogenicity. Our results indicate that this bacterium is a new strain of Enterococcus avium, with a genome organized in two circular replicons of 3.7 and 1.2 Mb, respectively.

Resumen del póster presentado al XLII Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Genética, celebrado de forma virtual del 14 al 18 de junio de 2021.

This work was supported by grants PGC2018-099344-B-I00 (MICINN and ERDF) and PROMETEO/2018/133 (GVA/INNOVA).

Peer reviewed