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Recent EPI Publications

Essential role of hepcidin in host resistance to disseminated candidiasis

Candida albicans is a leading cause of life-threatening invasive infection despite antifungal therapy. Patients with chronic liver disease are at increased risk of candidemia, but the mechanisms underlying this susceptibility are incompletely defined. One consequence of chronic liver disease is an attenuated ability to produce hepcidin and maintain organismal control of iron homeostasis.

Investigating Plasmids Diversity in X. euvesicatoria pv. perforans Population

Plasmids are key drivers of horizontal gene transfer. These genetic elements promote diversification and rapid adaptation of bacterial populations to changing environments by transferring beneficial traits within and between bacterial species. Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. perforans is a devastating plant pathogen that causes bacterial spot disease in tomato and pepper.

Harnessing the Power of Electrical Penetration Graph Technology to Understand Psyllid-Transmitted Fastidious Bacterial Diseases

Psyllids, also called plant lice, are hemipteran insects that feed on phloem sap. In addition to the direct damage they cause to plants, they are vectors of many phloem-restricted bacterial pathogens belonging to the ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp. and ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’ spp. from the apple proliferation group (16SrX). Although ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp. cells possess cell walls unlike those of the phytoplasmas, they both share a reduced genome and unavailability in culture.

Complete genome sequence of Photobacterium piscicola strain WVL24019 isolated from a freshwater hatchery-raised rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

This report describes the complete genome sequence of the non-bioluminescent marine bacterium Photobacterium piscicola strain WVL24019, isolated from a one-year freshwater hatchery-raised rainbow trout in a non-recirculating system supplied by aquiferous water. The genome was sequenced using Oxford Nanopore and Illumina NovaSeq technologies, resulting in two complete circular chromosomes.

Molecular characterization of Spirometra isolates across the United States of America

Spirometra is a genus of zoonotic cestodes with an ambiguous species–level taxonomic history. Previously, Spirometra mansonoides was considered the only species present in North America. However, recent molecular data revealed the presence of at least three distinct species in the United States of America (USA): Spirometra sp. 2 and 3, and Spirometra mansoni.