Table 1_Pan-genome analysis identifies a Burkholderia cepacia-specific gene marker for rapid species-level identification.xlsx

It has a propensity to form biofilms in water-based products, making it a significant contaminant in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries and posing threats to product quality control and public health. Therefore, rapid and accurate species-level identification of B. cepacia is of great importance.</p>Methods<p>To achieve rapid and accurate species-level identification of B. cepacia, we performed a pan-genome analysis based on 138 high-quality genome sequences covering B. cepacia and its closely related Bcc species with taxonomic positions validated by average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis.

A conserved core gene encoding a glycosyl hydrolase family 18 (GH18) protein was identified as a species-specific molecular marker. A specific primer pair comprising SEQ ID NO.2 and SEQ ID NO.3 was designed based on this marker and validated with both genome sequences and bacterial pure cultures.</p>Results<p>The GH18-encoding gene is highly conserved across 115 B. cepacia strains (sequence identities ranging from 90.3 to 100.0%) and is absent in all other Bcc species examined.