Global and regional dissemination and evolution of Burkholderia pseudomallei
Abstract
The environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei causes an estimated 165,000 cases of human melioidosis per year worldwide and is also classified as a biothreat agent. We used whole genome sequences of 469 B. pseudomallei isolates from 30 countries collected over 79 years to explore its geographic transmission. Our data point to Australia as an early reservoir, with transmission to Southeast Asia followed by onward transmission to South Asia and East Asia. Repeated reintroductions were observed within the Malay Peninsula and between countries bordered by the Mekong River. Our data support an African origin of the Central and South American isolates with introduction of B. pseudomallei into the Americas between 1650 and 1850, providing a temporal link with the slave trade. We also identified geographically distinct genes/variants in Australasian or Southeast Asian isolates alone, with virulence-associated genes being among those over-represented. This provides a potential explanation for clinical manifestations of melioidosis that are geographically restricted.
Citation
Chewapreecha , C , Holden , M T G , Vehkala , M , Välimäki , N , Yang , Z , Harris , S R , Mather , A E , Tuanyok , A , De Smet , B , Le Hello , S , Bizet , C , Mayo , M , Wuthiekanun , V , Limmathurotsakul , D , Phetsouvanh , R , Spratt , B G , Corander , J , Keim , P , Dougan , G , Dance , D A B , Currie , B J , Parkhill , J & Peacock , S J 2017 , ' Global and regional dissemination and evolution of Burkholderia pseudomallei ' , Nature Microbiology , vol. 2 , 16263 . https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.263
Publication
Nature Microbiology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2058-5276Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2017, the Author(s). This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at www.nature.com / https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.263
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