Detection of Genus and Three Important Species of Using Novel Genus- and Species-Specific Genes Identified by Large-Scale Comparative Genomic Analysis.

The genus includes seven species; however, the strains of , , and were highly correlated with clinical infections. Rapid and reliable identification of these three species of is important in monitoring and controlling diseases caused by these bacteria. Here, we identified four pairs of novel marker genes for the genus, , , and based on large-scale comparative genomic analysis from 799 and 136,146 non- genomes, including 10 and eight , which are close relatives of . Duplex and multiplex PCR methods were established based on these newly identified marker genes. The reliability of duplex and multiplex PCR methods was validated with 74 and 90 non- strains. Strains of , , and could be detected accurately at both the genus and species level. Moreover, the newly developed methods enable us to detect 2.5 × 10 CFU/ml in pure culture. These data indicate that the accurate and sensitive established methods for can serve as valuable tools for the identification of these strains recovered from food, environmental, and clinical samples.