Population genomics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Inuit

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Main Authors: Lee, Robyn S., Radomski, Nicolas, Proulx, Jean-Francois, Levade, Ines, Shapiro, B. Jesse, McIntosh, Fiona, Soualhine, Hafid, Menzies, Dick, Behr, Marcel A.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: National Academy of Sciences 2015
• Subjects: Biological Sciences; Nunavik; inuit
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4640744/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26483462; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1507071112

Through an in-depth analysis of whole-genome sequencing data from Nunavik, Québec, we inferred the evolution of a single dominant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Our analyses suggest that M. tuberculosis was first introduced into this region in the early 20th century. Since this time, M. tuberculosis has spread extensively, predominantly within but also between villages. Despite a genomic profile that lacks features of a hypervirulent strain, this strain has thrived in this region and continues to cause outbreaks. This suggests that successful clones of M. tuberculosis need not be inherently exceptional; host or social factors conducive to transmission may contribute to the ongoing tuberculosis epidemic in this and other high-incidence settings.