Journal article
Whole Genome Comparisons Suggest Random Distribution of Mycobacterium ulcerans Genotypes in a Buruli Ulcer Endemic Region of Ghana
Anthony S Ablordey, Koen Vandelannoote, Isaac A Frimpong, Evans K Ahortor, Nana Ama Amissah, Miriam Eddyani, Lies Durnez, Francoise Portaels, Bouke C de Jong, Herwig Leirs, Jessica L Porter, Kirstie M Mangas, Margaret MC Lam, Andrew Buultjens, Torsten Seemann, Nicholas J Tobias, Timothy P Stinear
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2015
Abstract
Efforts to control the spread of Buruli ulcer--an emerging ulcerative skin infection caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans--have been hampered by our poor understanding of reservoirs and transmission. To help address this issue, we compared whole genomes from 18 clinical M. ulcerans isolates from a 30 km2 region within the Asante Akim North District, Ashanti region, Ghana, with 15 other M. ulcerans isolates from elsewhere in Ghana and the surrounding countries of Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Contrary to our expectations of finding minor DNA sequence variations among isolates representing a single M. ulcerans circulating genotype, we found instead two distinct genotypes. One genotype was ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This study was supported in part by the Stop Buruli Initiative (www.stopburuli.org, UBS Optimus Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland) and the Flemish Interuniversity Council - University Development Cooperation (www.vliruos.be, VLIRUOS). TPS was supported by a Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (www.nhmrc.gov.au). KV was supported by a VLADOC PhD scholarship of VLIR-UOS (Belgium). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparations of the manuscript.