Mycobacterium leprae genomes from naturally infected nonhuman primates

Abstract

Leprosy is caused by the bacterial pathogens Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Apart from humans, animals such as nine-banded armadillos in the Americas and red squirrels in the British Isles are naturally infected with M. leprae. Natural leprosy has also been reported in certain nonhuman primates, but it is not known whether these occurrences are due to incidental infections by human M. leprae strains or by M. leprae strains specific to nonhuman primates. In this study, complete M. leprae genomes from three naturally infected nonhuman primates (a chimpanzee from Sierra Leone, a sooty mangabey from West Africa, and a cynomolgus macaque from The Philippines) were sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the cynomolgus macaque M. leprae strain is most closely related to a human M. leprae strain from New Caledonia, whereas the chimpanzee and sooty mangabey M. leprae strains belong to a human M. leprae lineage commonly found in West Africa. Additionally, samples from ring-tailed lemurs from the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar, and chimpanzees from Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda, were screened using quantitative PCR assays, to assess the prevalence of M. leprae in wild nonhuman primates. However, these samples did not show evidence of M. leprae infection. Overall, this study adds genomic data for nonhuman primate M. leprae strains to the existing M. leprae literature and finds that this pathogen can be transmitted from humans to nonhuman primates as well as between nonhuman primate species. While the prevalence of natural leprosy in nonhuman primates is likely low, nevertheless, future studies should continue to explore the prevalence of leprosy-causing pathogens in the wild. Author summaryMycobacterium leprae, which causes leprosy in humans, also infects nine-banded armadillos, red squirrels, and nonhuman primates. Genomic data for M. leprae strains from wild armadillos and red squirrels show that humans were responsible for the original introduction of M. leprae to these species. It is not known whether naturally occurring leprosy among nonhuman primates is due to incidental infections from humans or whether nonhuman primates can serve as a host for M. leprae. To this end, we sequenced complete genomes of M. leprae strains from three naturally infected nonhuman primates. Our results suggest that M. leprae strains can be transmitted from humans to nonhuman primates as well as between nonhuman primate species, and thus, other primates might serve as a host for M. leprae in the wild. We also assessed whether wild ring-tailed lemurs from Madagascar and chimpanzees from Uganda showed presence of M. leprae infection. Although these populations tested negative for M. leprae infection, further research on the prevalence of M. leprae in other wild nonhuman primate populations, especially in leprosy-endemic regions, is warranted.

Detection ofMycobacterium lepraeDNA in soil; Multiple needles in the haystack?

“…Furthermore, although the prevalence of leprosy in nonhuman primates (NHP) seems to be quite low, M. leprae infections have also been reported in NHP (20) carrying M. leprae strains closely related to the human strains, suggesting that NHPs transmission can occur from human (or human sources like trash), but also among NHPs(20).…”

The genome sequence of a SNP type 3K strain of Mycobacterium leprae isolated from a seventh‐century Hungarian case of lepromatous leprosy

“…Phylogenetic analyses were consistent between both maximum likelihood and neighbour‐joining methods (Figures and Figure S3). Both placed KD271 within the 3K0 lineage, branching from the common lineage before the S10/Kyoto‐1 branch but after the S9/CM‐1 branch (Avanzi et al, ; Honap et al, ; Mendum et al, ; Schuenemann et al, ). The branch lengths of KD271 were shorter than for the modern strains as would be expected for an ancient genome.…”

“…The presence of 3K0 strains in seventh‐century Hungarian remains and of a 3K strain from the 10th centrury is consistent with two contrasting scenarios for the origins of geographical distibution of 3K M. leprae strains. The global distribution of 3K0 and 3K1 strains is today restricted to regions of the Western Pacific such as Japan (except Okinawa), Korea, China, The Philippines, New Caledonia and Indonesia, among others (Avanzi et al, ; Honap et al, ; Kai et al, ; Monot et al, ; Weng et al, ). This could indicate that the 3K lineage originated in Northern or Eastern Asia.…”

Progress in the study of tuberculosis since Robert Koch to the present day

“…To drugie sformułowanie zostało potwierdzone przez uczestników ankiety, jaką w 2010 r. zorganizowało londyńskie Muzeum Nauki. Wśród 50.000 respondentów wybierających najważniejszy wynalazek w dziejach ludzkości najwięcej 11 <http://www.journal.doc.art.pl/pdf14/artbasedresearch_luczak_art_and_documentation14.pdf> 12 osób wskazało aparat rentgenowski 11 . Najważniejszą właściwością promieniowania rentgenowskiego z punktu widzenia przydatności w medycynie jest jego przenikliwość.…”