Identification of type IV pili as a critical virulence factor in a clinical isolate of Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus

Hydrocephalus preceded by an infection, or postinfectious hydrocephalus (PIH), accounts for 60% of the hydrocephalus cases in LMIC. Since even children who undergo surgical treatment for hydrocephalus early in life suffer poor long-term outcomes, prevention of hydrocephalus remains paramount. Our previous studies implicated a novel bacterial pathogen Paenibacillus thiaminolyticus as a causative agent of PIH in Uganda. Here we report the isolation of three P. thiaminolyticus strains, Mbale, Mbale2, and Mbale3, from patients with PIH and demonstration that the three clinical isolates exhibit virulence in a mouse infection model while a related reference strain, B-4156, does not. We constructed complete genome assemblies of the clinical isolates and the reference strain and applied comparative genomics and proteomics to identify potential virulence factors.