Genomic deletion marking an emerging subclone of Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica in France and the Iberian Peninsula.

ABSTRACT: Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica is widely disseminated in North America and the boreal and temperate regions of the Eurasian continent. Comparative genomic analyses identified a 1.59-kb genomic deletion specific to F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates from Spain and France. Phylogenetic analysis of strains carrying this deletion by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis showed that the strains comprise a highly related set of genotypes, implying that these strains were recently introduced or recently emerged by clonal expansion in France and the Iberian Peninsula.

SUBMITTER: Dempsey MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2168206 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature