Population genomics provides insights into the evolution and adaptation to humans of the waterborne pathogen Mycobacterium kansasii

Tao Luo (), Peng Xu, Yangyi Zhang, Jessica L. Porter, Marwan Ghanem, Qingyun Liu, Yuan Jiang, Jing Li, Qing Miao, Bijie Hu, Benjamin P. Howden, Janet A. M. Fyfe, Maria Globan, Wencong He, Ping He, Yiting Wang, Houming Liu, Howard E. Takiff, Yanlin Zhao (), Xinchun Chen (), Qichao Pan (), Marcel A. Behr (), Timothy P. Stinear () and Qian Gao ()
Additional contact information
Tao Luo: Sichuan University
Peng Xu: Fudan University
Yangyi Zhang: Shanghai Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Jessica L. Porter: University of Melbourne
Marwan Ghanem: McGill University and McGill International TB Centre
Qingyun Liu: Fudan University
Yuan Jiang: Shanghai Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Jing Li: Shanghai Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Qing Miao: Fudan University
Bijie Hu: Fudan University
Benjamin P. Howden: University of Melbourne
Janet A. M. Fyfe: Melbourne Health
Maria Globan: Melbourne Health
Wencong He: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute
Ping He: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute
Yiting Wang: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute
Houming Liu: Southern University of Science and Technology
Howard E. Takiff: Institut Pasteur
Yanlin Zhao: Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute
Xinchun Chen: Shenzhen University School of Medicine
Qichao Pan: Shanghai Municipal Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
Marcel A. Behr: McGill University and McGill International TB Centre
Timothy P. Stinear: University of Melbourne
Qian Gao: Fudan University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Mycobacterium kansasii can cause serious pulmonary disease. It belongs to a group of closely-related species of non-tuberculous mycobacteria known as the M. kansasii complex (MKC). Here, we report a population genomics analysis of 358 MKC isolates from worldwide water and clinical sources. We find that recombination, likely mediated by distributive conjugative transfer, has contributed to speciation and on-going diversification of the MKC. Our analyses support municipal water as a main source of MKC infections. Furthermore, nearly 80% of the MKC infections are due to closely-related M. kansasii strains, forming a main cluster that apparently originated in the 1900s and subsequently expanded globally. Bioinformatic analyses indicate that several genes involved in metabolism (e.g., maintenance of the methylcitrate cycle), ESX-I secretion, metal ion homeostasis and cell surface remodelling may have contributed to M. kansasii’s success and its ongoing adaptation to the human host.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22760-6

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