We saw that different OTUs are, in fact, more prevalent in different environments! Also, we found these OTUs in a lot of “animal-associated” samples derived from gut and stool. While there are reports of intestinal legionellosis, their total prevalence is surprising!

14/n

We then extended auxotrophy predictions to the entire family and found that each genus cluster presents a different auxotrophy profile.
Can we use this info to extend the number of cultured representatives?

12/n

Moving to the metabolism, our data shows that different genus clusters have different metabolic capabilities and that clearly the genus cluster including L. pneumophila has the greatest capabilities.

Could this explain why they are more easily cultivated?

8/n

We also noticed amino acid similarities among the genomes as low as 45%, suggesting the presence of not just one genus as currently accepted (i.e., Legionella). In fact, a combination of RED values and manual phylogenetic curation highlighted the presence of 17 genus clusters

3/n

📣 Second announcement 📣
Come to Eawag to present your research and discuss with international researchers the state of Legionella research and future research directions! 🦠🔬

Travel and childcare grants available!
Link: bit.ly/LeCo_Symp
Deadline: 15 March