The history, genome and biology of NCTC 30: a non-pandemic Vibrio cholerae isolate from World War One.

The sixth global cholera pandemic lasted from 1899 to 1923. However, despite widespread fear of the disease and of its negative effects on troop morale, very few soldiers in the British Expeditionary Forces contracted cholera between 1914 and 1918. Here, we have revived and sequenced the genome of NCTC 30, a 102-year-old Vibrio cholerae isolate, which we believe is the oldest publicly available live V. cholerae strain in existence. NCTC 30 was isolated in 1916 from a British soldier convalescent in Egypt. We found that this strain does not encode cholera toxin, thought to be necessary to cause cholera, and is not part of V. cholerae lineages responsible for the pandemic disease. We also show that NCTC 30, which predates the introduction of penicillin-based antibiotics, harbours a functional ß-lactamase antibiotic resistance gene. Our data corroborate and provide molecular explanations for previous phenotypic studies of NCTC 30 and provide a new high-quality genome sequence for historical, non-pandemic V. cholerae.

NCTC3000: a century of bacterial strain collecting leads to a rich genomic data resource.

The National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) was founded on 1 January 1920 in order to fulfil a recognized need for a centralized repository for bacterial and fungal strains within the UK. It is among the longest-established collections of its kind anywhere in the world and today holds approximately 6000 type and reference bacterial strains - many of medical, scientific and veterinary importance - available to academic, health, food and veterinary institutions worldwide. Recently, a collaboration between NCTC, Pacific Biosciences and the Wellcome Sanger Institute established the NCTC3000 project to long-read sequence and assemble the genomes of up to 3000 NCTC strains. Here, at the beginning of the collection's second century, we introduce the resulting NCTC3000 sequence read datasets, genome assemblies and annotations as a unique, historically and scientifically relevant resource for the benefit of the international bacterial research community.

Complete genome sequences of Streptococcus pyogenes type strain reveal 100%-match between PacBio-solo and Illumina-Oxford Nanopore hybrid assemblies.

We present the first complete, closed genome sequences of Streptococcus pyogenes strains NCTC 8198T and CCUG 4207T, the type strain of the type species of the genus Streptococcus and an important human pathogen that causes a wide range of infectious diseases. S. pyogenes NCTC 8198T and CCUG 4207T are derived from deposit of the same strain at two different culture collections. NCTC 8198T was sequenced, using a PacBio platform; the genome sequence was assembled de novo, using HGAP. CCUG 4207T was sequenced and a de novo hybrid assembly was generated, using SPAdes, combining Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequence reads. Both strategies yielded closed genome sequences of 1,914,862 bp, identical in length and sequence identity. Combining short-read Illumina and long-read Oxford Nanopore sequence data circumvented the expected error rate of the nanopore sequencing technology, producing a genome sequence indistinguishable to the one determined with PacBio. Sequence analyses revealed five prophage regions, a CRISPR-Cas system, numerous virulence factors and no relevant antibiotic resistance genes. These two complete genome sequences of the type strain of S. pyogenes will effectively serve as valuable taxonomic and genomic references for infectious disease diagnostics, as well as references for future studies and applications within the genus Streptococcus.

Complete Whole-Genome Sequence of Haemophilus haemolyticus NCTC 10839.

Haemophilus haemolyticus is a Gram-negative bacterium that is a commensal of the respiratory tract in humans. Here, we report the complete genome sequence available for Haemophilus haemolyticus strain NCTC 10839, which was originally isolated from the nasopharynx of a child.

Complete Whole-Genome Sequences of Two Raoultella terrigena Strains, NCTC 13097 and NCTC 13098, Isolated from Human Cases.

Raoultella terrigena is a bacterial species associated with soil and aquatic environments; however, sporadic cases of opportunistic disease in humans have been reported. Here, we report the first two complete genome sequences from clinical strains isolated from human sources that have been deposited in the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC).

Whole-Genome Sequences of Five Strains of Kocuria rosea, NCTC2676, NCTC7514, NCTC7512, NCTC7528, and NCTC7511.

Kocuria rosea is a Gram-positive coccus found in the environment and within normal human skin microbiota, and more recently, it has been potentially implicated as an opportunistic pathogen. Here, we describe the genome sequences of five strains of K. rosea (NCTC2676, NCTC7514, NCTC7512, NCTC7528, and NCTC7511).

Complete Genome Sequence of Neisseria weaveri Strain NCTC13585.

Neisseria weaveri is a commensal organism of the canine oral cavity and an occasional opportunistic human pathogen which is associated with dog bite wounds. Here we report the first complete genomic sequence of the N. weaveri NCTC13585 (CCUG30381) strain, which was originally isolated from a patient with a canine bite wound.

Complete Genome Sequence of Plesiomonas shigelloides Type Strain NCTC10360.

Plesiomonas shigelloides is a Gram-negative rod within the Enterobacteriaceae family. It is a gastrointestinal pathogen of increasing notoriety, often associated with diarrheal disease. P. shigelloides is waterborne, and infection is often linked to the consumption of seafood. Here, we describe the first complete genome for P. shigelloides type strain NCTC10360.

Complete Whole-Genome Sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Serovar Java NCTC5706.

Salmonellae are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Here, we report the first complete genome sequence for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Java strain NCTC5706. This strain is of historical significance, having been isolated in the pre-antibiotic era and was deposited into the National Collection of Type Cultures in 1939.