Multiple Introductions and Recent Spread of the Emerging Human Pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans across Africa.

ABSTRACT: Buruli ulcer (BU) is an insidious neglected tropical disease. Cases are reported around the world but the rural regions of West and Central Africa are most affected. How BU is transmitted and spreads has remained a mystery, even though the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, has been known for more than 70 years. Here, using the tools of population genomics, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of M. ulcerans by comparing 165 isolates spanning 48 years and representing 11 endemic countries across Africa. The genetic diversity of African M. ulcerans was found to be restricted due to the bacterium's slow substitution rate coupled with its relatively recent origin. We identified two specific M. ulcerans lineages within the African continent, and inferred that M. ulcerans lineage Mu_A1

SUBMITTER: Vandelannoote K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5381664 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature