Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death in humans by a single infectious agent worldwide with approximately two billion humans latently infected with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Currently, the accepted method for controlling the disease is Tuberculosis Directly Observed Treatment Shortcourse (TB-DOTS). This program is not preventative and individuals may transmit disease before diagnosis, thus better understanding of disease transmission is essential. Using whole-genome sequencing and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis, we analyzed genomes of 145 M. tuberculosis clinical isolates from active TB cases from the Rubaga Division of Kampala, Uganda. We established that these isolates grouped into M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) lineages 1, 2, 3, and 4, with the most isolates grouping into lineage 4. Possible transmission pairs containing ≤12 SNPs were identified in lineages 1, 3, and 4 with the prevailing transmission in lineages 3 and 4. Furthermore, investigating DNA codon changes as a result of specific SNPs in prominent virulence genes including plcA and plcB could indicate potentially important modifications in protein function. Incorporating this analysis with corresponding epidemiological data may provide a blueprint for the integration of public health interventions to decrease TB transmission in a region.

中文翻译：

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使用单核苷酸多态性阈值分析评估非洲城市结核分枝杆菌的传播网络

结核病 (TB) 是世界范围内由单一传染性病原体导致人类死亡的主要原因，大约有 20 亿人潜伏感染了结核分枝杆菌。目前，公认的控制该疾病的方法是结核病直接观察短期治疗（TB-DOTS）。该计划不是预防性的，个人可能在诊断前传播疾病，因此必须更好地了解疾病传播。使用全基因组测序和单核苷酸多态性分析，我们分析了 145  M的基因组。来自乌干达坎帕拉鲁巴加分部的活动性结核病例的结核病临床分离株。我们确定这些分离物归为M。结核病复合体 (MTBC) 谱系 1、2、3 和 4，其中最多的分离物归入谱系 4。在谱系 1、3 和 4 中鉴定出可能包含≤12 个 SNP 的传播对，在谱系 3 和 4 中普遍传播. 此外，研究由plcA和plcB等突出毒力基因中特定 SNP 引起的 DNA 密码子变化可能表明蛋白质功能的潜在重要修饰。将这一分析与相应的流行病学数据结合起来，可以为整合公共卫生干预措施以减少一个地区的结核病传播提供蓝图。