Whole_genome_and_transcriptome_sequencing_of_in_vitro_cultured_Treponema_pallidum. Whole_genome_and_transcriptome_sequencing_of_in_vitro_cultured_Treponema_pallidum

Syphilis, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (TPA), is considered a re-emerging disease with over 5.6 million cases worldwide. The recently described in vitro culture model (containing rabbit epithelial cells – Sf1Ep cells) has opened new avenues for studying the basic biology of this pathogen. We will take advantage of this in vitro model and link its use to high-throughput genomic approaches to provide unique insights into the gene expression profiles of this pathogen. We will perform dual RNA-seq of multiple strains grown in vitro under different conditions. To reach this goal, we first sequenced the whole genomes and transcriptomes of TPA strains we are currently culturing in vitro to revise the genomic reference for future differential expression analyses. Strand-specific RNA-sequencing was used to reconstruct a high-quality transcriptome profile of TPA, confirming the active transcription of genes previously annotated as hypothetical, paving the way for more accurate identification of vaccine target candidates. Our transcriptomic data also revealed, for the first time, the organization of genes into transcription units, an abundance of antisense RNAs, and transcripts from intergenic regions, providing crucial insights for future functional genomics studies of TPA. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/