Working group: Cellular Interactions of Bacterial Pathogens, Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms (ZBS 2), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Proteomics and Spectroscopy (ZBS 6), Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
Int J Med Microbiol. 2023 Jul;313(4):151583. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2023.151583. Epub 2023 Jun 14.
Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia, a zoonotic disease with a wide host range. F. tularensis ssp. holarctica (Fth) is of clinical relevance for European countries, including Germany. Whole genome sequencing methods, including canonical Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (canSNP) typing and whole genome SNP typing, have revealed that European Fth strains belong to a few monophyletic populations. The majority of German Fth isolates belong to two basal phylogenetic clades B.6 (biovar I) and B.12 (biovar II). Strains of B.6 and B.12 seem to differ in their pathogenicity, and it has been shown that strains of biovar II are resistant against erythromycin. In this study, we present data corroborating our previous data demonstrating that basal clade B.12 can be divided into clades B.71 and B.72. By applying phylogenetic whole genome analysis as well as proteome analysis, we could verify that strains of these two clades are distinct from one another. This was confirmed by measuring the intensity of backscatter light on bacteria grown in liquid media. Strains belonging to clades B.6, B.71 or B.72 showed clade-specific backscatter growth curves. Furthermore, we present the whole genome sequence of strain A-1341, as a reference genome of clade B.71, and whole proteomes comparison of Fth strains belonging to clades B.6, B.71 and B.72. Further research is necessary to investigate phenotypes and putative differences in pathogenicity of the investigated different clades of Fth to better understand the relationship between observed phenotypes, pathogenicity and distribution of Fth strains.
弗氏土拉弗朗西斯菌是土拉菌病的病原体，土拉菌病是一种宿主范围广泛的人畜共患病。弗氏土拉弗朗西斯菌亚种 holarctica（Fth）与包括德国在内的欧洲国家的临床相关。全基因组测序方法，包括规范单核苷酸多态性（canSNP）分型和全基因组 SNP 分型，表明欧洲 Fth 菌株属于少数单系种群。大多数德国 Fth 分离株属于两个基础系统发育枝 B.6（生物型 I）和 B.12（生物型 II）。B.6 和 B.12 菌株似乎在致病性上有所不同，并且已经表明生物型 II 的菌株对红霉素具有抗性。在这项研究中，我们提供了数据来证实我们之前的研究结果，表明基础枝 B.12 可以进一步分为枝 B.71 和 B.72。通过应用系统发育全基因组分析和蛋白质组分析，我们能够验证这两个枝的菌株彼此不同。这通过测量在液体培养基中生长的细菌的反向散射光强度得到证实。属于枝 B.6、B.71 或 B.72 的菌株显示出枝特异性的反向散射生长曲线。此外，我们还提供了菌株 A-1341 的全基因组序列，作为枝 B.71 的参考基因组，以及属于枝 B.6、B.71 和 B.72 的 Fth 菌株的全蛋白质组比较。需要进一步研究以调查 Fth 不同枝系的表型和潜在致病性差异，以更好地理解观察到的表型、致病性和 Fth 菌株分布之间的关系。
