Study to enhance CDC’s capacity to rapidly detect emerging infectious disease agents
To enhance the early detection of novel infectious bacteria that could cause outbreaks of infectious disease and public health emergencies, a team of researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will sequence the genomes of 700 Bacilli bacteria — near relatives of the biothreat pathogen that causes anthrax.
Funded by a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the research will support the development of genomic resources and DNA sequence databases for the federal agency to increase its capacity for rapidly detecting novel pathogens, according to team leader Jasna Kovac, assistant professor of food science and Lester Earl and Veronica Casida Career Development Professor of Food Safety.
From a biodefense standpoint, it is important to understand the diversity of environmental Bacilli that could become novel biothreats such as anthrax, noted Kovac, who has extensive experience with the genomics of Bacilli.
“There are known examples among Bacillus cereus group bacteria where ‘benign’ environmental strains have acquired anthrax-causing capabilities,” she said. “We are interested in detecting and characterizing similar strains of Bacilli that have both the characteristics of known biothreats and harmless environmental microorganisms.”
If emerging pathogens or biothreats are detected early on, they are more likely to be contained effectively to prevent a public health emergency, Kovac noted. “We are partnering with the CDC to create a large database of Bacilli to support its development of rapid laboratory methods for the detection of novel, naturally occurring or engineered pathogens and potential emerging biothreats,” she said.
The databases will enhance and strengthen existing genomics approaches and bioinformatics pipelines developed by the CDC’s Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections group. This will allow for the rapid detection of genomic markers associated with increased biothreat risk, Kovac pointed out.
