Sequencing of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain M2 genome

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) is a Gram-negative nosocomial pathogen and one of the most prevalent organisms isolated from burn wounds worldwide. PA strain M2 (O5 serotype, type B flagella) is utilized for examining the murine model associated with burns. PA M2 is similar in lethality to common laboratory PA strains when infecting CD-1 mice. Conversely, we recently showed that, relatively to these strains, PA M2-infected mice are more susceptible to sepsis and demonstrate a 6-log reduction in LD50 from subcutaneous infection at the infection site directly after 10% total body surface area burn. To better understand this striking phenotypic difference from other PA strains employed in burn models, we sequenced the PA M2 genome.