1. The First Finding of Francisella tularensis subsp. mediasiatica in Krasnoyarsk Territory, Siberia, and an Update of the Subspecies Genetic Diversity
- Author
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Vitalii Timofeev, Irina Bakhteeva, Alexander Mokrievich, Galina Vakhrameeva, Elena Gritskova, Yuriy Anisimov, Evgeny Rozhdestvensky, Galina Bazarova, Rostislav Zhumakaev, Ivan Dyatlov, Gilles Vergnaud, State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (SRCAMB), Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), and Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Francisella tularensis ,subsp. mediasiatica ,phylogeography ,evolution ,subspecies mediasiatica ,biology_other ,[SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy ,[SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology - Abstract
Tularemia is a severe infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Francisella tularensis. F. tularensis is currently divided into three subspecies, holarctica, tularensis and mediasiatica which differ in their virulence and geographic distribution. Subspecies mediasiatica is the least studied because of its very low documented virulence for humans and limited geographic distribution. It was discovered in sparsely populated regions of Central Asia. Since 2011, a new subsp. mediasiatica lineage was identified in Altai (Russia). In 2021, we isolated one subsp. mediasiatica strain in Krasnoyarsk Territory. In spite of its geographic origin, 500 km east from Altai, this strain belongs to the Altai lineage and contributes surprisingly little genetic diversity to previous knowledge. This improved knowledge of the phylogeography of subsp. mediasiatica led us to propose a scenario in which the two zoonotic lineages, holarctica and tularensis, independently emerged from the mediasiatica lineage in Siberia or Central Asia, and make predictions which will allow to challenge this hypothesis
- Published
- 2022