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We proudly celebrate the milestone achievement of young investigators Megi Tsereteli and Lilia Jimsherishvili from the In Silico Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics (LFGP) at the One Health Institute (OHI). They have co-authored an important scientific publication providing amplifying evidence for cross-contamination cases in microbial genome data. This marks the first research article published by the LFGP team under the leadership of Saba Kobakhidze, representing a successful collaboration with Rusudan Tsiklauri of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU). The publication underscores the promising collaboration between emerging scientists from two of Georgia’s leading academic institutions, guided by internationally recognized senior researchers such as Dr. Mamuka Kotetishvili of OHI and Dr. Stylianos Coulouris of DG-SANTE. The study reports on the detection of Equus caballus and Mus musculus genetic loci within the genomes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones. This publication not only reflects scientific excellence but also signals a new chapter in strengthening Georgia’s contribution to global microbial genomics and public health research. “As we develop new visions and approaches for identifying DNA sequence contaminations at intergeneric and interdomain levels in whole genome sequencing (WGS) data, recognizing such cases at the intra-species level remains highly challenging. Tackling these and other bioinformatics challenges calls for the development of more advanced analytical tools to strengthen global surveillance of microbial genomes—especially in the context of tracking the transmission of foodborne, zoonotic, and other infectious agents,” says Dr. Mamuka Kotetishvili, Director of OHI. |
