Environmental reservoirs of pathogenic mycobacteria across the Ethiopian biogeographical landscape.
The Mycobacterium genus comprises over one-hundred-and-fifty recognised species, the majority of which reside in the environment and many of which can be pathogenic to mammals. Some species of environmental mycobacteria may interfere with BCG vaccination efficacy and in tuberculin test interpretation. Examining biogeographic trends in the distribution of members of the mycobacteria across a number of physicochemical and spatial gradients in soil and water environments across Ethiopia using oligotyping identified differential distributions of pathogenic and significant species. The tuberculosis complex was identified in more than 90% of water samples and taxonomic groups implicated in lower BCG vaccine efficiency were core in both soil and water Mycobacterium communities. A reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis was identified in water, with up to 7.3×102 genome equivalents per ml. Elevation, temperature, habitat and vegetation type were important predictors of both soil and water Mycobacterium communities. These results represent the first step in understanding the potential risk of exposure to environmental mycobacteria that may undermine efforts to reduce disease incidence.
School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
Hayley C
HC
King
School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
Tanya
T
Khera-Butler
School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
Phillip
P
James
College of Veterinary Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California, United States of America.
Brian B
BB
Oakley
St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.|Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), ALERT Campus, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Girume
G
Erenso
Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), ALERT Campus, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Abraham
A
Aseffa
Department of Pediatrics and Department of Computer Science, University of California, San Diego, California, United States of America.
Rob
R
Knight
School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
Elizabeth M
EM
Wellington
School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
Orin
O
Courtenay
D000531:Altitude; D044822:Biodiversity; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology*; D004777:Environment; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000502:physiology*; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000502:physiology; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014871:Water Microbiology