Using comparative genomics to resolve an unusual case of aminoglycoside susceptibility in the melioidosis pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei in Bangladesh

Melioidosis is an emerging and underdiagnosed infectious disease of the tropics with a rising global burden caused by the environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is endemic in Southeast and South Asia including Bangladesh. A rare aminoglycoside susceptible B. pseudomallei isolate has recently been reported from a melioidosis patient in Dhaka Hospital (isolate Y2019). We have whole genome sequenced the genome of this isolate and ten other isolates from Bangladesh. In a phylogenetic tree with a global set of B. pseudomallei genomes, most Bangladesh genomes tightly clustered within the Asian clade. In contrast, Y2019 was closely related to ST881 isolates from Sarawak, Borneo, a gentamicin sensitive sequence type. Y2019 also contained the same nonsynonymous mutation in the drug efflux pump encoding amrB gene. In absence of a travel history, the use of whole genome sequencing and readily available bioinformatics tools have assisted in revealing the likely origin of this rare isolate.