1. Genetic diversity of Leptospira isolates in Lao PDR and genome analysis of an outbreak strain
- Author
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Grillová, L, Robinson, MT, Chanthongthip, A, Vincent, AT, Nieves, C, Oppelt, J, Mariet, J-F, Lorioux, C, Vongsouvath, M, Mayxay, M, Phonemeexay, O, Rattanavong, S, Phommasone, K, Douangnouvong, A, Šmajs, D, Veyrier, FJ, Newton, PN, Picardeau, M, Biologie des Spirochètes / Biology of Spirochetes, Institut Pasteur [Paris] (IP), Masaryk University [Brno] (MUNI), Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit (LOMWRU), Mahidol University [Bangkok]-Mahosot Hospital, University of Oxford, Institut Armand Frappier (INRS-IAF), Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique [Québec] (INRS)-Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur (RIIP), University of Pennsylvania, Ministry of Health [Laos], This work was supported by the InstitutPasteur through grant PTR 30-2017 to MP and the Wellcome Trust through grant 106698/Z/14/Z to PN. JO was supported by the project 'e-Infrastruktura CZ' (e-INFRA LM2018140) provided within the program Projects of Large Research, Development and Innovations Infrastructures. ATV received a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). CN received a Ph.D. studentship Calmette & Yersin from the Institut Pasteur International Network. FJV received a Junior 1 and Junior 2 research scholar salary award from the Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript., and We would like to thank to Dr. Robert Anthony Gaultney for his assistance with the English revision. We thank Vincent Enouf and the team of the core facility P2M (Institut Pasteur, Mutualized Platform for Microbiology) for genomic sequencing and the staff of the Reference Center for Leptospirosis for processing some of the samples. Moreover, we would like to thank to Dr. Gregorio Iraola for his assistance with the statistical analyses. We are very grateful to the late Dr Rattanaphone Phetsouvanh, the patients and to Assoc. Prof. Bounthaphany Bounxouei, ex-Director of Mahosot Hospital, the staff of all hospitals who participated int this study and the Microbiology Laboratory for their technical help and sup- port, Assoc. Prof. Bounnack Saysanasongkham, the ex-Director of Department of Health Care, Ministry of Health, and Assoc. Prof. Bounkong Syhavong, the ex-Minister of Health, Lao PDR for their very kind help and support.
- Subjects
Bacterial Diseases ,Male ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,RC955-962 ,Pathology and Laboratory Medicine ,Disease Outbreaks ,Geographical Locations ,Medical Conditions ,Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine ,Zoonoses ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Ethnicities ,Child ,Phylogeny ,Leptospira ,Molecular Epidemiology ,Genomics ,Middle Aged ,Bacterial Pathogens ,Leptospira Interrogans ,[SDV.MP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology ,Infectious Diseases ,Medical Microbiology ,Laos ,Child, Preschool ,Lao People ,Female ,Public aspects of medicine ,RA1-1270 ,Pathogens ,Research Article ,Neglected Tropical Diseases ,Adult ,Asia ,Adolescent ,Genotype ,Microbiology ,Young Adult ,Asian People ,Genetics ,Animals ,Humans ,Leptospirosis ,Microbial Pathogens ,Bacteria ,Whole Genome Sequencing ,Organisms ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Computational Biology ,Genetic Variation ,Tropical Diseases ,Genome Analysis ,People and Places ,Population Groupings ,Genome, Bacterial ,Multilocus Sequence Typing - Abstract
Background Although Southeast Asia is one of the most leptospirosis afflicted regions, little is known about the diversity and molecular epidemiology of the causative agents of this widespread and emerging zoonotic disease. Methodology/Principal findings We used whole genome sequencing to examine genetic variation in 75 Leptospira strains isolated from patients in the Lao PDR (Laos) between 2006 and 2017. Eleven serogroups from 4 Leptospira species and 43 cgMLST-defined clonal groups (CGs) were identified. The most prevalent CG was CG272 (n = 18, 26.8%), composed of L. interrogans serogroup Autumnalis isolates. This genotype was recovered throughout the 12-year period and was associated with deaths, and with a large outbreak in neighbouring Thailand. Genome analysis reveals that the CG272 strains form a highly clonal group of strains that have, for yet unknown reasons, recently spread in Laos and Thailand. Additionally, accessory genes clearly discriminate CG272 strains from the other Leptospira strains. Conclusions/Significance The present study reveals a high diversity of Leptospira genotypes in Laos, thus extending our current knowledge of the pan- and core-genomes of these life-threatening pathogens. Our results demonstrate that the CG272 strains belong to a unique clonal group, which probably evolved through clonal expansion following niche adaptation. Additional epidemiological studies are required to better evaluate the spread of this genotype in Southeast Asia. To further investigate the key factors driving the virulence and spread of these pathogens, more intense genomic surveillance is needed, combining detailed clinical and epidemiological data., Author summary Pathogenic Leptospira are the causative agents for leptospirosis, a neglected and emerging zoonosis occurring worldwide. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity of Leptospira strains isolated from patients over a 12-year period in Lao PDR. Our genome analysis revealed a high diversity of Leptospira genotypes in this endemic country for leptospirosis, including a group of clonal strains which was responsible for a large outbreak in neighboring Thailand. Further progress in our understanding of the epidemiology of Leptospira circulating genotypes should contribute to the implementation of prevention and intervention measures to reduce the risk of leptospirosis transmission.
- Published
- 2021