Antwerpen Markus, Braun Peter, Beyer Wolfgang, Aldenkortt Dirk, Seidel Michael, Grass Gregor
Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology (IMB), 80937 Munich, Germany.
Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University Hospital Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, 80799 Munich, Germany.
Pathogens. 2025 Jan 16;14(1):83. doi: 10.3390/pathogens14010083.
The anthrax pathogen can remain dormant as spores in soil for many years. This applies to both natural foci and to sites of anthropogenic activity such as tanneries, abattoirs, or wool factories. The A.Br.075 (A-branch) clade (also known as A.Br.Sterne) is prominent not only because it comprises several outbreak strains but even more so because spore preparations of its namesake, the Sterne strain, are counted among the most utilized anthrax animal vaccines. In this study, we genome-sequenced and analyzed 56 additional isolates of the A.Br.075 clade. Four of these we recently retrieved from soil samples taken from a decades-long abandoned tannery. The other 52 strains originated from our archival collection from the 20th century. Notably, the extended phylogeny of the A.Br.075 clade indicated that many of the newly added chromosomes represent basal members, some of which are among the most basal strains from this lineage. Twelve new strains populate a very deep-branching lineage we have named A.Br.Ortho-Sterne (also known as A.Br.076). A further 11 isolates amend the clade named A.Br.Para-Sterne (A.Br.078). Finally, some of the terminal clusters of the clade named A.Br.Eu-Sterne appear to be replete with (near) identical isolates, possibly a result of widespread use of the Sterne vaccine and of its re-isolation from vaccination-related animal anthrax outbreaks. From the accrued new phylogenetic information, we designed and tested a variety of new SNP-PCR assays for rapid and facile genotyping of unassigned genomes. Lastly, the successful isolation of live from a long-abandoned tannery reemphasizes the need for continued risk awareness of such sites.
炭疽病原体可作为孢子在土壤中休眠多年。这既适用于自然疫源地，也适用于制革厂、屠宰场或毛纺厂等人为活动场所。A.Br.075（A分支）进化枝（也称为A.Br.Sterne）很突出，不仅因为它包含多个暴发菌株，更因为其同名的Sterne菌株的孢子制剂是使用最广泛的炭疽动物疫苗之一。在本研究中，我们对另外56株A.Br.075进化枝的分离株进行了全基因组测序和分析。其中4株是我们最近从一个废弃数十年的制革厂采集的土壤样本中获得的。另外52株菌株来自我们20世纪的存档样本。值得注意的是，A.Br.075进化枝的扩展系统发育表明，许多新添加的染色体代表基部成员，其中一些是该谱系中最基部的菌株。12株新菌株构成了一个非常深分支的谱系，我们将其命名为A.Br.Ortho-Sterne（也称为A.Br.076）。另有11株分离株完善了名为A.Br.Para-Sterne（A.Br.078）的进化枝。最后，名为A.Br.Eu-Sterne的进化枝中的一些末端簇似乎充满了（近乎）相同的分离株，这可能是Sterne疫苗广泛使用以及从与疫苗接种相关的动物炭疽疫情中重新分离出该疫苗的结果。根据积累的新系统发育信息，我们设计并测试了多种新的SNP-PCR检测方法，用于对未分类基因组进行快速简便的基因分型。最后，从一个长期废弃的制革厂成功分离出活的（病原体）再次强调了对此类场所持续保持风险意识的必要性。
