Avibacterium paragallinarum Genome sequencing and assembly

Avibacterium paragallinarum is primarily involved in the upshot of Infectious coryza (IC). This disease is of great economic importance as it results in a decrease in egg production of up to 40%, particularly on multi-age farms. In 1989 Infectious coryza was regarded to be the second most important bacterial disease in India, associated with mortality. Effective control of IC infections can be achieved through the application of vaccines. Even though numerous vaccines are available, failures of immunisation have been reported. Drawbacks in vaccination failures, are reported to be due to limited or no cross-protection between some serovars. This can be circumvented by the correct identification of the specific infection causing serovar. Diagnosis of IC can be accomplished by performing a species-specific PCR to detect Av. paragallinarum DNA, however, lacking the ability to distinguish between different serovars. The current and only available method in the typing of Av. paragallinarum serovars is the haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. However, this method is subjective as it requires viable cells, where in the case of diagnostics, viable cells are often seldom obtained. Thus, the constant search for a reliable molecular typing system is a priority in Av. paragallinarum research. In pursuit to drive molecular diagnostics and to better understanding virulence and virulence factors on molecular level, whole genome sequencing was done as an initial step into molecular diagnostics and research. Molecular studies on this bacterium is key for the potential development of molecular typing methods. These molecular studies require whole genome data, where in the case of Av. paragallinarum, not all reference genomes are available yet.