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 the study of the basic biology of this pathogen. We will take advantage of the 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 are first planning to sequence the whole genomes of 16 TPA strains we are currently culturing in vitro, so we can later use this information and link allelic variants with expression profiles.