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Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Lineage 4 Comprises Globally Distributed And Geographically Restricted Sublineages, David Stucki, Daniela Brites, Leïla Jeljeli, Mireia Coscolla, Gunturu Revathi

Pathology, East Africa

Generalist and specialist species differ in the breadth of their ecological niches. Little is known about the niche width of obligate human pathogens. Here we analyzed a global collection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 clinical isolates, the most geographically widespread cause of human tuberculosis. We show that lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages, suggesting a distinction between generalists and specialists. Population genomic analyses showed that, whereas the majority of human T cell epitopes were conserved in all sublineages, the proportion of variable epitopes was higher in generalists. Our data further support a European origin for the most …