Complete genome sequence analysis of the Vibrio owensii strain SH-14 isolated from shrimp with acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease.

Vibrios are a group of very important bacterial pathogens in marine aquaculture industry and cause serious aquatic animal diseases, such as shrimp acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND). A new AHPND pathogen, the Vibrio owensii strain SH-14, was isolated from diseased shrimp in Shanghai, China. In this study, to better understand the pathogenesis of AHPND at the genomic level, the genome of the strain SH-14 was completely sequenced and analyzed. The SH-14 consists of two circular chromosomes of 3,689,702 bp and 2,430,445 bp, and of two plasmids named as pVHvo (69,148 bp) and pVHvo-R (78,918 bp), respectively. The pVHvo encodes the bi-toxic genes of pirAB, responsible for shrimp AHPND. The whole genomes contain a total of 5703 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), 129 tRNA genes and 37 rRNA genes. The average nucleotide identities (ANIs) between the SH-14 and the other V. owensii strains are all greater than 95%, confirming a new V. owensii strain of the SH-14. The taxonomic affiliation of the SH-14 is also supported by whole-genome alignment and nucleotide identity dotplot analyses. These results pave the way for further study of spread and epidemic of shrimp AHPND.