Fusarium species are important pathogens that affect many vegetable, cereal, and pulse crops in Canada. These pathogens also infect a diverse range of horticultural crops, including cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.). A range of disease symptoms have been reported on cannabis plants upon infection by several Fusarium species, which include root rot, wilting, stem rot, and bud rot. In this study, we report the genome sequences of five Fusarium species that were recovered from symptomatic greenhouse-grown cannabis plants in British Columbia: F. graminearum, F. sporotrichioides, F. culmorum, F. proliferatum, and F. oxysporum. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the isolates from cannabis displayed a high percentage genome alignment to currently recognized pathogenic Fusarium species infecting other crops. This may suggest that horizontal transmission of the pathogens has occurred between these crops, potentially through air, soil, or seed-borne inoculum. In addition, analysis of secondary metabolites and toxin production in the Fusarium species affecting cannabis indicated they have the potential to produce several mycotoxins, including trichothecenes, fumonisin, zearalenone, beauvericin and culmorin. Further epidemiological and in planta studies are needed to establish the extent to which horizontal spread of Fusarium species from horticultural and field crops to cannabis plants is occurring and the impact this can have on post-harvest quality and mycotoxin production. Studies on genetic changes that may be occurring in the Fusarium species as they adapt to cannabis as a host would provide evolutionary insights into the pathogenicity of this complex, versatile and important group of plant pathogens.

Fusarium species are important pathogens that affect many vegetable, cereal, and pulse crops in Canada. These pathogens also infect a diverse range of horticultural crops, including cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.). A range of disease symptoms have been reported on cannabis plants upon infection by several Fusarium species, which include root rot, wilting, stem rot, and bud rot. In this study, we report the genome sequences of five Fusarium species that were recovered from symptomatic greenhouse-grown cannabis plants in British Columbia: F. graminearum, F. sporotrichioides, F. culmorum, F. proliferatum, and F. oxysporum. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the isolates from cannabis displayed a high percentage genome alignment to currently recognized pathogenic Fusarium species infecting other crops. This may suggest that horizontal transmission of the pathogens has occurred between these crops, potentially through air, soil, or seed-borne inoculum. In addition, analysis of secondary metabolites and toxin production in the Fusarium species affecting cannabis indicated they have the potential to produce several mycotoxins, including trichothecenes, fumonisin, zearalenone, beauvericin and culmorin. Further epidemiological and in planta studies are needed to establish the extent to which horizontal spread of Fusarium species from horticultural and field crops to cannabis plants is occurring and the impact this can have on post-harvest quality and mycotoxin production. Studies on genetic changes that may be occurring in the Fusarium species as they adapt to cannabis as a host would provide evolutionary insights into the pathogenicity of this complex, versatile and important group of plant pathogens.

Cronobacter sakazakii 505108 was isolated from a sputum specimen of a neonate with severe pneumonia. C. sakazakii 505108 co-harbors 3 resistance plasmids of the IncHI2, IncX3, and IncFIB incomparability groups, respectively. These 3 plasmids have acquired several accessory modules, which carry an extremely large number of resistance genes, especially including those involved in resistance to carbapenems, aminoglycoside, tetracyclines, and phenicols and sulphonamide/trimethoprim. These plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes were associated with insertion sequences, integrons, and transposons, indicating that the assembly and mobilization of the corresponding accessory modules with complex chimera structures are facilitated by transposition and/or homologous recombination. This is the first report of fully sequence plasmids in clinical Cronobacter, which provides a deeper insight into plasmid-mediated multi-drug resistance in Cronobacter from hospital settings.

Cronobacter sakazakii 505108 was isolated from a sputum specimen of a neonate with severe pneumonia. C. sakazakii 505108 co-harbors 3 resistance plasmids of the IncHI2, IncX3, and IncFIB incomparability groups, respectively. These 3 plasmids have acquired several accessory modules, which carry an extremely large number of resistance genes, especially including those involved in resistance to carbapenems, aminoglycoside, tetracyclines, and phenicols and sulphonamide/trimethoprim. These plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance genes were associated with insertion sequences, integrons, and transposons, indicating that the assembly and mobilization of the corresponding accessory modules with complex chimera structures are facilitated by transposition and/or homologous recombination. This is the first report of fully sequence plasmids in clinical Cronobacter, which provides a deeper insight into plasmid-mediated multi-drug resistance in Cronobacter from hospital settings.

An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.