PRJDB8 Whole genome sequencing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae strain 309 M. pneumoniae 309 is a type 2a variant strain of this bacterium. It was isolated from pneumonia patient in Hokkaido, Japan in 1998. Type 2a strain was rare in 1990s but is frequently found in clinical specimens after 2002 in Japan. This strain has variations in protein P1, which is a major factor involved in attachment of this bacterium to human respiratory epithelial cells. This variation was probably created by recombination events between p1 gene and repetitive sequences in the genome. The mechanism of the recombination could be understood clearly by complete genome sequencing of 309 strain. The precise comparison of complete M. pneumoniae genomes also detects the different compositions of surface antigenic proteins between 309 and other strains. This is the key information to understand the clinical emergence of type 2a strain. Whole genome sequencing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae strain 309 bioproject PRJDB8 PRJDB8 true