Whole-Genome Sequencing of Brucella spp. from Iran

Brucella spp. infection is a common zoonotic disease in Iran. Developing and acquiring resistance makes it one of the most critical zoonotic pathogens in endemic areas.The objective of this study was to identify Brucella at a species level and evaluate AMR and virulence-associated factors in isolates recovered from humans and animals in different regions of Iran using classical phenotyping and Next-Generation-Sequencing (NGS) technology. Frothy Brucella spp. (three B. abortus biovar 1, 2 and 3 and thirty-seven B. melitensis biovar1, 2 and 3) were isolated from lymph nodes (cows and camel), milk (cows, camel and sheep), and aborted fetus samples (sheep and goat), Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) (human) and blood samples (humans) originating from sixteen districts in Iran.Our findings revealed that B. melitensis is the common species in bovines, small ruminants, and camels.