Draft genome sequence of multidrug-resistant β-lactamase-producing Bacillus cereus S66 isolated from China

Objectives: Bacillus cereus is associated with a variety of human diseases such as haematological malignancies, tetanus, gas gangrene, food poisoning and pseudomembranous colitis. Our team found and isolated a strain, named B. cereus S66, from radiation-contaminated soil in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In this study, the drug resistance and toxicity of B. cereus S66 was systematically studied and analysed. Methods: Genomic DNA of B. cereus S66 was sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing system. The generated reads were assembled using SOAPdenovo, and GapCloser was used to fill in the gaps. The draft genome was annotated, and virulence genes and drug resistance genes were identified by comparison with multiclass databases. Results: The genome of B. cereus strain S66 is 5 628 370 bp with a GC content of 34.95% and contains various genes related to toxicity and antimicrobial resistance. The number of toxicity genes identified was 496, some of which are associated with gastrointestinal infection, eye infection and neutrophil-activating protein NapA. Antimicrobial resistance-related genes comprised 3.23% of the total genes and conferred resistance to lincomycin, tetracycline, fosfomycin, aminoglycosides, linezolid, chloramphenicol, rifampicin, macrolides, daunorubicin and mupirocin. Three different β-lactamases were also found in isolate S66. Conclusions: The genome sequence of B. cereus S66 provides a valuable reference to further research on multidrug resistance characteristics and pathogenic system analysis of Bacillus sp. in the clinic.