Pathogenomics

Pathogenomics is a field which uses high-throughput screening technology and bioinformatics to study encoded microbe resistance, as well as virulence factors (VFs), which enable a microorganism to infect a host and possibly cause disease.[1][2][3][4] This includes studying genomes of pathogens which cannot be cultured outside of a host.[5] In the past, researchers and medical professionals found it difficult to study and understand pathogenic traits of infectious organisms.[6] With newer technology, pathogen genomes can be identified and sequenced in a much shorter time and at a lower cost,[7][8] thus improving the ability to diagnose, treat, and even predict and prevent pathogenic infections and disease.[9] It has also allowed researchers to better understand genome evolution events - gene loss, gain, duplication, rearrangement - and how those events impact pathogen resistance and ability to cause disease.[8] This influx of information has created a need for bioinformatics tools and databases to analyze and make the vast amounts of data accessible to researchers,[10][11] and it has raised ethical questions about the wisdom of reconstructing previously extinct and deadly pathogens in order to better understand virulence.[12]

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  2. ^ "How Pathogens Cause Disease | Microbiology". courses.lumenlearning.com. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. ^ Yang J, Chen L, Sun L, Yu J, Jin Q (January 2008). "VFDB 2008 release: an enhanced web-based resource for comparative pathogenomics". Nucleic Acids Research. 36 (Database issue): D539-42. doi:10.1093/nar/gkm951. PMC 2238871. PMID 17984080.
  4. ^ Gwinn M, MacCannell D, Armstrong GL (March 2019). "Next-Generation Sequencing of Infectious Pathogens". JAMA. 321 (9): 893–894. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.21669. PMC 6682455. PMID 30763433.
  5. ^ Threats, Institute of Medicine (US) Forum on Microbial (2013). Workshop Overview. National Academies Press (US). Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  6. ^ Ekundayo TC, Okoh AI (2018). "Plesiomonas shigelloides That Were Deemed Inconclusive by Traditional Experimental Approaches". Frontiers in Microbiology. 9: 3077. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.03077. PMC 6309461. PMID 30627119.
  7. ^ Threats, Institute of Medicine (US) Forum on Microbial (2013). Workshop Overview. National Academies Press (US). Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  8. ^ a b Lynch T, Petkau A, Knox N, Graham M, Van Domselaar G (October 2016). "A Primer on Infectious Disease Bacterial Genomics". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 29 (4): 881–913. doi:10.1128/CMR.00001-16. PMC 5010755. PMID 28590251.
  9. ^ Demuth A, Aharonowitz Y, Bachmann TT, Blum-Oehler G, Buchrieser C, Covacci A, et al. (May 2008). "Pathogenomics: an updated European Research Agenda". Infection, Genetics and Evolution. 8 (3): 386–93. Bibcode:2008InfGE...8..386D. doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2008.01.005. hdl:10033/30395. PMID 18321793.
  10. ^ Amoutzias, Grigorios D.; Nikolaidis, Marios; Hesketh, Andrew (17 May 2022). "The Notable Achievements and the Prospects of Bacterial Pathogen Genomics". Microorganisms. 10 (5): 1040. doi:10.3390/microorganisms10051040. ISSN 2076-2607. PMC 9148168. PMID 35630482.
  11. ^ Vinatzer BA, Heath LS, Almohri HM, Stulberg MJ, Lowe C, Li S (15 May 2019). "Cyberbiosecurity Challenges of Pathogen Genome Databases". Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 7: 106. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2019.00106. PMC 6529814. PMID 31157218.
  12. ^ Kaiser J (October 2005). "Virology. Resurrected influenza virus yields secrets of deadly 1918 pandemic". Science. 310 (5745): 28–9. doi:10.1126/science.310.5745.28. PMID 16210501. S2CID 26252589.