Forde, T. L. et al. (2022) Population genomics of Bacillus anthracis from an anthrax hyperendemic area reveals transmission processes across spatial scales and unexpected within-host diversity. Microbial Genomics, 8(2), 000759. (doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.000759) (PMID:35188453) (PMCID:PMC8942019)
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Abstract
Genomic sequencing has revolutionized our understanding of bacterial disease epidemiology, but remains underutilized for zoonotic pathogens in remote endemic settings. Anthrax, caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis , remains a threat to human and animal health and rural livelihoods in low- and middle-income countries. While the global genomic diversity of B. anthracis has been well-characterized, there is limited information on how its populations are genetically structured at the scale at which transmission occurs, critical for understanding the pathogen’s evolution and transmission dynamics. Using a uniquely rich dataset, we quantified genome-wide SNPs among 73 B. anthracis isolates derived from 33 livestock carcasses sampled over 1 year throughout the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, a region hyperendemic for anthrax. Genome-wide SNPs distinguished 22 unique B. anthracis genotypes (i.e. SNP profiles) within the study area. However, phylogeographical structure was lacking, as identical SNP profiles were found throughout the study area, likely the result of the long and variable periods of spore dormancy and long-distance livestock movements. Significantly, divergent genotypes were obtained from spatio-temporally linked cases and even individual carcasses. The high number of SNPs distinguishing isolates from the same host is unlikely to have arisen during infection, as supported by our simulation models. This points to an unexpectedly wide transmission bottleneck for B. anthracis , with an inoculum comprising multiple variants being the norm. Our work highlights that inferring transmission patterns of B. anthracis from genomic data will require analytical approaches that account for extended and variable environmental persistence, as well as co-infection.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | MMBAGA, Professor Blandina Theoph and Lembo, Dr Tiziana and Zadoks, Professor Ruth and Harvey, Dr William and Aminu, Ms Rhoda and Vogel, Ms Adeline and Forde, Dr Taya and Biek, Professor Roman and Dennis, Dr Tristan |
| Creator Roles: | Forde, T. L.Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Visualization, Writing – original draft Dennis, T. P.W.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing – review and editing Aminu, O. R.Investigation, Writing – review and editing Harvey, W. T.Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing – review and editing Vogel, A.Formal analysis, Visualization Zadoks, R. N.Writing – review and editing Mmbaga, B. T.Funding acquisition, Project administration Lembo, T.Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – review and editing Biek, R.Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – review and editing |
| Authors: | Forde, T. L., Dennis, T. P.W., Aminu, O. R., Harvey, W. T., Hassim, A., Kiwelu, I., Medvecky, M., Mshanga, D., Van Heerden, H., Vogel, A., Zadoks, R. N., Mmbaga, B. T., Lembo, T., and Biek, R. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine |
| Journal Name: | Microbial Genomics |
| Publisher: | Microbiology Society |
| ISSN: | 2057-5858 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2057-5858 |
| Published Online: | 21 February 2022 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2022 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Microbial Genomics 8(2): 000759 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
| Data DOI: | 10.5525/gla.researchdata.1217 |
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