Genomic Analysis of the F3031 Brazilian Purpuric Fever Clone of Haemophilus influenzae Biogroup Aegyptius by PCR-Based Subtractive Hybridization

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Abstract
PCR-based subtractive genome hybridization produced clones harboring inserts present in Brazilian purpuric fever (BPF) prototype strain F3031 but absent in noninvasive Haemophilus influenzae biogroup aegyptius isolate F1947. Some of these inserts have no matches in the GenBank database, while others are similar to genes encoding either known or hypothetical proteins. One insert represents a 2.3-kb locus with similarity to a Thermotoga maritima hypothetical protein, while another is part of a 7.6-kb locus that contains predicted genes encoding hypothetical, phage-related, and carotovoricin Er-like proteins. The presence of DNA related to these loci is variable among BPF isolates and nontypeable H. influenzae strains, while neither of them was detected in strains of types a to f. The data indicate that BPF-causing strain F3031 harbors unique chromosomal regions, most of which appear to be acquired from unrelated microbial sources.