The First Finding of Francisella tularensis subsp. mediasiatica in Krasnoyarsk Territory, Siberia, and an Update of the Subspecies Genetic Diversity

Vitalii Timofeev (1) , Irina Bakhteeva (1) , Alexander Mokrievich (1) , Galina Vakhrameeva (1) , Elena Gritskova , Yuriy Anisimov , Evgeny Rozhdestvensky , Galina Bazarova , Rostislav Zhumakaev (1) , Ivan Dyatlov (1) , Gilles Vergnaud (2)

1 SRCAMB - State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
2 I2BC - Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule

Tularemia is a severe infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Francisella tularensis. F. tularensis is currently divided into three subspecies, holarctica, tularensis, and mediasiatica, which differ in their virulence and geographic distribution. Subspecies mediasiatica is the least studied because of its very low documented virulence for humans and limited geographic distribution. It was discovered in sparsely populated regions of Central Asia. Since 2011, a new subsp. mediasiatica lineage was identified in Altai (Russia). In 2021, we isolated one subsp. mediasiatica strain in Krasnoyarsk Territory. In spite of its geographic origin, 500 km east from Altai, this strain belongs to the Altai lineage and contributes surprisingly little genetic diversity to previous knowledge.

Mots clés: phylogeography; evolution; Francisella tularensis; subspecies mediasiatica

Domaines: Bactériologie; Systématique, phylogénie et taxonomie

Vitalii Timofeev, Irina Bakhteeva, Alexander Mokrievich, Galina Vakhrameeva, Elena Gritskova, et al.. The First Finding of Francisella tularensis subsp. mediasiatica in Krasnoyarsk Territory, Siberia, and an Update of the Subspecies Genetic Diversity. Bacteria, 2022, 1 (4), pp.242-249. ⟨10.3390/bacteria1040018⟩. ⟨hal-03835933⟩