TY - JOUR
T1 - Genomic Epidemiology of Clinical Brucella melitensis Isolates from Southern Israel
AU - Zilberman, Bar
AU - Motro, Yair
AU - Sagi, Orli
AU - Kornspan, David
AU - Ben-Shimol, Shalom
AU - Gdalevich, Michael
AU - Yagel, Yael
AU - Davidovitch, Nadav
AU - Khalfin, Boris
AU - Rabinowitz, Peter
AU - Nesher, Lior
AU - Grotto, Itamar
AU - Bardenstein, Svetlana
AU - Moran-Gilad, Jacob
N1 - Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by Chief Scientist Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Israel. grant number 16-18-0002. The APC was funded by waiver from MDPI. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/2/1
Y1 - 2022/2/1
N2 - Brucellosis, a zoonosis mainly transmitted by consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, is endemic in Southern Israel, mainly among the Bedouin Arab population. However, the genomic epidemiology of B. melitensis in this region has not yet been elucidated. A cohort of brucellosis cases (n = 118) diagnosed between 2017–2019 was studied using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Phylogenetic analyses utilized core genome MLST (cgMLST) for all local isolates and core genome SNPs for 347 human-associated B. melitensis genomes, including Israeli and publicly available sequences. Israeli isolates formed two main clusters, presenting a notable diversity, with no clear dominance of a specific strain. On a global scale, the Israeli genomes clustered according to their geographical location, in proximity to genomes originating from the Middle East, and formed the largest cluster in the tree, suggesting relatively high conservation. Our study unveils the genomic epidemiology of B. melitensis in Southern Israel, implicating that rather than a common source, the transmission pattern of brucellosis among Bedouin communities is complex, predominantly local, and household-based. Further, genomic surveillance of B. melitensis is expected to inform future public health and veterinary interventions and clinical care.
AB - Brucellosis, a zoonosis mainly transmitted by consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, is endemic in Southern Israel, mainly among the Bedouin Arab population. However, the genomic epidemiology of B. melitensis in this region has not yet been elucidated. A cohort of brucellosis cases (n = 118) diagnosed between 2017–2019 was studied using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Phylogenetic analyses utilized core genome MLST (cgMLST) for all local isolates and core genome SNPs for 347 human-associated B. melitensis genomes, including Israeli and publicly available sequences. Israeli isolates formed two main clusters, presenting a notable diversity, with no clear dominance of a specific strain. On a global scale, the Israeli genomes clustered according to their geographical location, in proximity to genomes originating from the Middle East, and formed the largest cluster in the tree, suggesting relatively high conservation. Our study unveils the genomic epidemiology of B. melitensis in Southern Israel, implicating that rather than a common source, the transmission pattern of brucellosis among Bedouin communities is complex, predominantly local, and household-based. Further, genomic surveillance of B. melitensis is expected to inform future public health and veterinary interventions and clinical care.
KW - Brucella melitensis
KW - CgMLST
KW - CgSNPs
KW - WGS
KW - Zoonosis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123077816&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020238
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10020238
M3 - Article
C2 - 35208693
SN - 2076-2607
VL - 10
JO - Microorganisms
JF - Microorganisms
IS - 2
M1 - 238
ER -
