Complete Genome Sequences of Three Propionibacterium acnes Isolates from the Type IA2 Cluster

Propionibacterium acnes is an anaerobic Gram-positive bacterium that has been linked to a wide range of opportunistic human infections and conditions, most notably acne vulgaris (I. Kurokawa et al., Exp. Dermatol. 18:821–832, 2009). We now present the whole-genome sequences of three P. acnes strains from the type IA2 cluster which were recovered from ophthalmic infections (A. McDowell et al., Microbiology 157:1990–2003, 2011). Propionibacterium acnes is a member of the resident microbiotaon the human skin and has been linked to various infections and conditions,most notably acne vulgaris. To date, complete and draft genome sequences available for P. acnes (1, 2, 5, 6) have identified numerous virulence factors, thus highlighting the pathogenic potential of the organism. This is further supported by in vitro studies demonstrating that distinct P. acnes strains trigger the secretion of various effector molecules from numerous cell types (4, 7, 8, 13, 14). Recently, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) identified a dis-tinct cluster of sequence types (STs) (ST9, ST22, and ST27) within the type I clade that were provisionally classified as type IB2 pend