Isolated from a case of encephalomyelitis. Burkholderia pseudomallei 305

Burkholderia pseudomallei 305. This strain was isolated from an autopsy sample from the brain of a fatal melioidosis encephalomyelitis case at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia. Neurological melioidosis is rare, occurring in around 5% of the diagnosed cases, therefore this B. pseudomallei strain is of great interest to epidemiologists and clinicians. In addition, genome analysis of B. pseudomallei 305 has revealed a conserved region, termed B. thailandensis-like flagella and chemotaxis gene cluster (BTFC), which is commonly found in B. pseudomallei isolates from Australia but is uncommon in isolates from other regions. Furthermore, several unique genomic islands have been identified in this strain that contain potential virulence genes and genes for various metabolisms.