{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: High-throughput functional trait testing for bacterial pathogens.
{Author}: Stromberg ZR;Phillips SMB;Omberg KM;Hess BM;
{Journal}: mSphere
{Volume}: 8
{Issue}: 5
{Year}: 2023 10 24
{Factor}: 5.029
{DOI}: 10.1128/msphere.00315-23
{Abstract}: Functional traits are characteristics that affect the fitness and metabolic function of a microorganism. There is growing interest in using high-throughput methods to characterize bacterial pathogens based on functional virulence traits. Traditional methods that phenotype a single organism for a single virulence trait can be time consuming and labor intensive. Alternatively, machine learning of whole-genome sequences (WGS) has shown some success in predicting virulence. However, relying solely on WGS can miss functional traits, particularly for organisms lacking classical virulence factors. We propose that high-throughput assays for functional virulence trait identification should become a prominent method of characterizing bacterial pathogens on a population scale. This work is critical as we move from compiling lists of bacterial species associated with disease to pathogen-agnostic approaches capable of detecting novel microbes. We discuss six key areas of functional trait testing and how advancing high-throughput methods could provide a greater understanding of pathogens.