The origin and pathogenesis of marine group B Streptococcus.

Streptococcus agalactiae is an important human pathogen, causing septicaemia and meningitis in human newborns and disease in immuno-compromised patients. It is also extremely versatile and causes diseases to a wide range of warm-blooded animals, notably mastitis in large ruminants, and cold-blooded animals, including crocodiles, frogs and lizards. It is now emerging as an important fish pathogen, found both in the wild and in aquaculture farms. We sequenced the genomes of 16 Australian marine isolates of S. agalactiae, collected over a four year period, across the whole QLD coastline and from various marine species (mullet, catfish, giant grouper, javelin grunter and rays) and 7 terrestrial isolates (human and animal origin)