Whole genome sequencing of isolates of Mycobacterium ulcerans to trace effectively the evolutionary history of the bacteria and understand its dissemination and evolution at a local scale (villages).
The development of whole genome sequencing brought the opportunity to trace effectively the evolutionary history of the bacteria. To understand the dissemination and evolution of M. ulcerans at a local scale (villages), a large number of clinical isolates needs to be sequenced in a same endemic area.In 2020, we first performed a phylogeographic analysis on 207 isolates obtained from human clinical specimens spanning 10 years and representing two endemic departments in the South of Benin and one neighboring department in Nigeria. We were able to identify eight distinct genotypes at this scale. These genotypes were not evenly distributed over the area and we uncovered three discernible spatial clusters of genotypes associated with landscapes characteristics.Here, we sequenced an additional set of recent clinical isolates to further refine our first data, including temporality factors.