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Genomic analyses indicate the North American Ap-ha variant of the tick-vectored bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum was introduced from Europe.
- Source :
- Parasites & Vectors; 11/18/2023, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p1-11, 11p
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Background: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick-vectored, obligately intracellular bacterium that infects a diversity of vertebrate hosts. In North America, the Ap-ha variant of A. phagocytophilum can cause dangerous infections in humans, whereas symptomatic human infections in Europe are rare. Conversely, the European host-generalist ecotype of A. phagocytophilum frequently causes illness in domestic ruminants while no comparable infections have been recorded from North America. Despite these differences in pathogenicity, the Ap-ha variant is closely aligned phylogenetically with the European host-generalist ecotype. Furthermore, North American populations of A. phagocytophilum are less genetically diverse than those in Europe. Taken together, these observations suggest that the North American Ap-ha variant may represent an introduced population of this bacterium. Methods: Data from publicly available whole genomes of A. phagocytophilum were used to compare phylogeographic patterns and the extent of genetic divergence between the North American Ap-ha variant and the European host-generalist ecotype. Results: The results confirm that North American Ap-ha samples are phylogenetically nested within the diversity of the European host-generalist ecotype, and that Ap-ha likely radiated within the last 100 years. As expected, the Ap-ha variant also exhibited relatively low genetic diversity levels compared to the European host-generalist ecotype. Finally, North American Ap-ha harbored significantly more derived alleles than the European host-generalist A. phagocytophilum population. Conclusions: Collectively, these results support the hypothesis that the Ap-ha variant was recently introduced to North America from Europe and underwent a strong genetic bottleneck during this process (i.e. a 'founder event'). Adaptation to novel vectors may have also played a role in shaping genetic diversity and divergence patterns in these pathogenic bacteria. These findings have implications for future studies aimed at understanding evolutionary patterns and pathogenicity variation within A. phagocytophilum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17563305
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Parasites & Vectors
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 173722861
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-023-05914-x