Comparative genomic analyses of Lactobacillus rhamnosus isolated from Chinese subjects

Abstract

Lactobacillus rhamnosus has been found in many niches, including human intestine, vagina, mouth and dairy products. To intensively investigate the genomic diversity of this species, draft genomes of 70 L. rhamnosus strains isolated from different Chinese subjects were sequenced and further investigated. The pan-genome of L. rhamnosus was open. And gene-trait matching (GTM) was done to explore the carbohydrate utilization ability and antibiotic resistance, and to establish a pattern of gene existence/absence and growth/absence. There were no significant correlations between genetic diversity of the strains and the age or region of the donors. The current results extend the understanding of L. rhamnosus, which could be used as a reference for subsequent research as well as mining and application of the species.