A grant has been awarded to Drs. Amy Martin-Carnahan, Sam Joseph and Colin Stine at the University of Maryland, Jonathan Heidelberg at The Institute for Genomic Research and Ashok K. Chopra at the University of Texas to produce the complete genome sequence of the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila. This will provide a roadmap for understanding the physiology and ecology of this microorganism which is found in all manner of aquatic environments worldwide, is an important fish pathogen and interacts with many other microorganisms in the aquatic environment. The DNA of the organism will be isolated, purified and extracted and each fragment will be sequenced and subsequently the complete genetic code will be pieced together by a combination of state-of-the art molecular and computational techniques. This study will provide vital genetic information about this microbe, and its role in the environment and interactions with other organisms. Aeromonas hydrophila is on the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is listed as a pathogen of concern in the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's "Bad Bug Book". Overall, the sequencing of A. hydrophila will further our understanding of this and related organisms in many of the major aquatic ecosystems on this planet. With our increasing dependence on the aquatic environment, it is important for us to better understand the overall composition of its microbiota, thus allowing us to detect changes in environmental quality that may pose hazards to human and ecosystem health. The results of this project will be made available to the general scientific community as well as incorporated into undergraduate and graduate science courses at various campuses of the University of Maryland. The sequence data will also be available through scientific databases and web pages as well as other public databases.
