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Abstract

Genus Elizabethkingia was separated from Chyseobacterium in 2005, with two member species, E. meningoseptica, a notorious pathogen causing meningitis, and E. miricola, an isolate obtained from condensation water of Space Station Mir. The third species, E. anophelis was originally isolated from the gut of Anopheles mosquitoes and described in 2011. In 2013, E. anophelis caused human infections were documented in Central Africa, and an outbreak in an intensive-care unit in Singapore was reported. In 2015, evidence came to light that E. anophelis infections could be transmitted from mother to infant. In 2016, an E. anophelis outbreak occurred in Wisconsin. The genome annotation revealed a large genetic capacity of the antibiotic resistance, defense against oxidative stress and TonB dependent transporters. Those features may contribute to the virulence and pathogenesis. In this study, we reciprocally compared genomes of mosquito isolates and human isolates in different geographic locations including Central Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Wisconsin, in an attempt to recognize mobile DNA elements that may provide clues to identify genome signature that is related to pathogenesis. The comparison revealed the presence of variable discrete integrative conjugative elements (ICE) across the isolates. These ICEs contain genes that are involved in pathogenicity functions such as antibiotic resistance and virulence. The ICEs in mosquito isolates were degenerated with missing necessary Tr a genes for mobility. Interestingly, a Type II CRISPR cas unit was identifed in the pathogenic isolate from Central Africa. The genome comparison provided valuable information for further studies of pathogenesis, ecology and evolution of the species.