Whole Genome Analyses Accurately Identify Neisseria spp. and Limit Taxonomic Ambiguity
, Issmat I. Kassem 5, Rayane Rafei 1, Ahmad Shahin 1, Pierre Edouard Fournier 2, Jean-Marc Rolain 2 and Monzer Hamze 1Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Khore et al. presented a study entitled “Whole genome analyses accurately identify Neisseria spp. and 2 limit taxonomic ambiguity”. The study analyze all complete genome sequences of N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis and the draft genomes of N. flavescens, N. perflava, N. mucosa, and N. macacae that are available in the NCBI Genome database as well as the draft genomes of four from commensal Neisseria clinical isolates. The aim was to confirm their identity and determine the phylogenetic relationships among these species at the genomic level. This study revealed taxonomic problems and the needing of an upadate of the Neisseria genus.
The manuscript is clear and presented in a well-structured manner and the conclusions are consistent with the evidence and arguments presented. I think that the article is suitable for publication in IJMS in its present form.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 1,
We are pleased that you found our manuscript interesting, and we thank you for the thoughtful reading of the paper.
Reviewer 2 Report
The authors of this manuscript utilize whole genome analyses to accurately identify Neisseria spp. and limit taxonomic ambiguity. Overall I found their experimental methods sound and analysis throughout strong. I think this study is important because it gives new insight into Neisseria spp. and the contribution of novel species linked to disease.
Now that whole genome sequencing is becoming more affordable it gives researchers the power to gain a clearer picture of which types of microbes are involved with disease states. I think this work has interesting implications related to the epidemiology Neisseria spp. I do agree the authors that while WGS has the power to give a clearer picture of which Neisseria spp. are linked to disease, it could still be a financial burden in developing countries.
Overall, I think the authors work gives us a better understanding of the challenges of identifying different Neisseria spp. I thought the heat maps in figures one and two were very compelling. From an epidemiology standpoint I think the pangenome tree showing that the Lebanon isolates were most closely related to N. mucosa or N. flavescens very interesting.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 2,
We are pleased that you found our manuscript interesting, and we thank you for the thoughtful reading of the paper.
