The Disease

Burkholderia pseudomallei (previously called Pseudomonas pseudomallei) is the causative agent of melioidosis, a serious disease of man and animals that occurs primarily in S.E. Asia, N. Australia and other tropical areas. B. pseudomallei is an environmental Gram-negative saprophyte present in wet soil and rice paddies in endemic areas. The highest documented infection rate is in northeastern Thailand, where melioidosis accounts for 20% of all community-acquired septicaemias. Disease occurs after bacterial contamination of breaks in the skin or by inhalation after contact with water or soil. There is no licensed vaccine against meliodosis, and the bacterium is resistant to many antibiotics. B. pseudomallei strain K96243 is a clinical isolate from Thailand, supplied by Dr. S. Songsivilai of Mahidol University.

The Genome

The B. pseudomallei strain K96243 genome is composed of two circular chromosome of 4,074,542 bp and 3,173,005 bp, and was sequenced in collaboration with Dr. Rick Titball of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, and Dr. Ty Pitt of the The Health Protection Agency.

Data Release

A manuscript describing the K96243 genome has been published: Holden et. al. (2004) Genomic plasticity of the causative agent of melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:14240-14245.

Sequencing Enquiries

Please address all sequencing and annotation enquiries to Dr. Matthew Holden.