Scientists release genome sequences of three calf gut Parabacteroides isolates

Researchers have published a new data note describing high-quality genome sequences and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles for three Parabacteroides strains isolated from the feces of clinically healthy calves. The strains, designated KHUB-01, KHUB-02, and KHUB-03, are presented as a genome-resolved resource for a gut-associated bacterial genus that the authors say remains understudied and frequently misclassified among mammal-derived isolates.

The genomes were generated using PacBio single-molecule real-time sequencing, with additional Illumina short reads used for polishing. De novo assembly produced a single circular contig for KHUB-01 and KHUB-03, while KHUB-02 was assembled into two contigs. The PacBio long-read approach combined with short-read polishing is intended to yield complete, accurate bacterial genome assemblies suitable for taxonomic and comparative analyses.

Alongside the raw and assembled sequence data, the released files summarize sequencing output, assembly features, genome quality, annotation statistics, comparative genome metrics, and reference genomes used for comparison. The dataset also includes ResFinder-based antimicrobial resistance gene hits, allowing readers to inspect which resistance determinants were detected in silico for each strain.

In addition to the genomic data, the authors provide antimicrobial susceptibility profiles for the three isolates, pairing phenotypic testing results with the genome sequences. This combination of phenotypic and genomic information is intended to support future work on the taxonomy, functional characterization, and genomic features of Parabacteroides strains recovered from the gastrointestinal tracts of mammals.

The data note, published in BMC Genomic Data on 1 October 2026, is open access and was authored by Hae-In Joe, Jae-Yun Lee, Hyun Sik Kim, and Jin-Woo Bae. As a data note, the article describes a dataset rather than reporting new experimental findings about the biology or clinical relevance of the strains. The authors note that Parabacteroides is increasingly recognized as an important gut-associated genus involved in mammalian health and disease, and that the data were collected to provide genome-resolved resources for strains from healthy calves. The dataset is available for reuse by researchers studying gut microbiome taxonomy and bacterial genome annotation.

Subject of Research: Genome sequences and phenotypic profiles of three Parabacteroides isolates from calf feces

Article Title: Genome sequences and phenotypic profiles of three calf fecal Parabacteroides isolates

Article References: Joe, H.-I., Lee, J.-Y., Kim, H. S., & Bae, J.-W. (2026). Genome sequences and phenotypic profiles of three calf fecal Parabacteroides isolates. BMC Genomic Data. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-026-01491-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12863-026-01491-x

Keywords: Parabacteroides, calf feces, genome sequencing, PacBio, Illumina, de novo assembly, antimicrobial susceptibility, ResFinder, BMC Genomic Data, data note, gut microbiome, taxonomy