Prediction of Metabolic Profile and Virulence Factors of Facultative-Anaerobic Bacteria from Tuberculous Necrosis Foci Based on Whole-Genome Sequencing Data.

Metagenomics of bacterial communities in tuberculosis caseous necrotic mass indicates the predominance of facultative anaerobes. Nine strains isolated from the tuberculosis necrosis were identified to species and whole-genome sequencing was performed: Staphylococcus hominis (3 strains), S. epidermidis (3 strains), Corynebacterium ureicelerivorans (2 strains), and C. kefirresidentii (1 strain). Prediction of metabolic pathways and virulence factors showed that Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus possess gene sets that are absent in Mycobacterium tuberculosis: lipases and proteases for the degradation of caseous necrosis, glutamate and polysaccharide capsules, ureases capable of increasing pH of the caseum; and Fe(III) uptake systems. The isolated species can form a bacterial consortium with M. tuberculosis at the early (Corynebacterium) and later (Staphylococcus) stages of necrotization of the tuberculosis focus in the lungs.