The MtZ Strain: Molecular Characteristics and Outbreak Investigation of the Most Successful Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strain in Aragon Using Whole-Genome Sequencing.

ABSTRACT: Since 2004, a tuberculosis surveillance protocol has been carried out in Aragon, thereby managing to detect all tuberculosis outbreaks that take place in the community. The largest outbreak was caused by a strain named Mycobacterium tuberculosis Zaragoza (MtZ), causing 242 cases as of 2020. The main objective of this work was to analyze this outbreak and the molecular characteristics of this successful strain that could be related to its greater transmission. To do this, we first applied whole-genome sequencing to 57 of the isolates. This revealed two principal transmission clusters and six subclusters arising from them. The MtZ strain belongs to L4.8 and had eight specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes considered to be virulence factors [ptpA, mc3D,

SUBMITTER: Comin J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9173592 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature