Bacillus anthracis Genome sequencing

The National Institute for Quality Control in Health is the federal laboratory that analyzes products subject to health surveillance, including food. The Institute of Technology in Immunobiologicals is responsible for producing immunobiologicals to meet the demands of the population. This study aims to develop a machine-learning (ML) Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) model for differentiating B. cereus species isolated from a pharmaceutical and food industry. One hundred strains identified as belonging to the B. cereus group will be evaluated. The strains were isolated from different food samples (n=50) and from the industry (n=50). Phenotypic characterization will be carried out using the VITEK2 and MALDI Biotyper. Molecular characterization will be carried out by sequencing the 16S rRNA, gyrB and rpoB genes. Strains not identified by these techniques will be subjected to whole genome sequencing and analyzed using various taxonomic approaches. FT-IR analysis will be carried out to develop ML classifiers for differentiating species of the group. The strains identified as B. cereus will be typed by Multilocus sequence typing and an ML classifier will be developed to differentiate the sequence types by FT-IR. The MALDI database will be expanded with unidentified strains and subsequently identified using molecular techniques. The strains will be evaluated for aggregative activity, biofilm production on different surfaces and spore tolerance to disinfectants. Afterwards, dendrograms and Scartter plot graphs with FT-IR profiles will be constructed to evaluate the dispersion of the strains by sample type, production site, the phenotypic characteristics evaluated (biofilm/aggregation) and isolation date. This information will be important for assessing the dispersion of clones within the pharmaceutical industry and in foodstuffs.