Spatiotemporal Co-existence of Two Mycobacterium ulcerans Clonal Complexes in the Offin River Valley of Ghana

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016 Jul 19;10(7):e0004856. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004856. eCollection 2016 Jul.

Abstract

In recent years, comparative genome sequence analysis of African Mycobacterium ulcerans strains isolated from Buruli ulcer (BU) lesion specimen has revealed a very limited genetic diversity of closely related isolates and a striking association between genotype and geographical origin of the patients. Here, we compared whole genome sequences of five M. ulcerans strains isolated in 2004 or 2013 from BU lesions of four residents of the Offin river valley with 48 strains isolated between 2002 and 2005 from BU lesions of individuals residing in the Densu river valley of Ghana. While all M. ulcerans isolates from the Densu river valley belonged to the same clonal complex, members of two distinct clonal complexes were found in the Offin river valley over space and time. The Offin strains were closely related to genotypes from either the Densu region or from the Asante Akim North district of Ghana. These results point towards an occasional involvement of a mobile reservoir in the transmission of M. ulcerans, enabling the spread of bacteria across different regions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Buruli Ulcer / microbiology*
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genome, Bacterial
  • Genotype
  • Ghana
  • Humans
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans / classification
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans / genetics
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans / isolation & purification*
  • Phylogeny
  • Rivers / microbiology*

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Stop Buruli Initiative funded by the UBS-Optimus Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.