Transcriptomic and metabolic features of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis during human macrophage infection

• Grant number: 19/10896-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 30, 2019
• End date: August 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Ana Marcia de Sá Guimarães
• Grantee: Cristina Kraemer Zimpel
• Supervisor: Robert B Abramovitch
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Michigan State University (MSU), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/04617-3 - Host adaption of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis: a genomic and transcriptional approach, BP.DR

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC), a bacterial group that comprises twelve pathogen species that infect human beings and/or animals. The most frequent causative species of the disease are M. tuberculosis and M. bovis. Members of this complex evolved clonally from M. tuberculosis and have high genomic identity, differing only by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and regions of difference (indels, RDs). Furthermore, MTC members demonstrate phenotypic variations related to virulence and host tropism. While M. tuberculosis is highly adapted to human beings (i.e. a specialist bacterium) and is the major causative agent of the disease in this population, M. bovis shows unrestricted host predilection (i.e. a generalist bacterium), and can affect several animal species, including human beings, but with variable populational persistence. Although several reservoir animal species have been described for M. bovis, this pathogen does not persist in the human population; M. bovis transmission among patients is considered rare, even in cases of pulmonary disease. Therefore, in order to explain the unrestricted host preference of M. bovis and why this pathogen does not persist in the human population, this project aims to compare the transcriptional and metabolic profiles of M. bovis and M. tuberculosis during human macrophage infections. The comparative analysis to be performed herein will help elucidate the host-pathogen interaction of M. bovis, and to identify genes related to macrophage infection that may serve as targets for treatment protocols and vaccine development.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LIMA, DAIANE A. R.; ZIMPEL, CRISTINA K.; PATANE, JOSE S.; SILVA-PEREIRA, TAIANA TAINA; ETGES, RODRIGO N.; RODRIGUES, RUDIELLE A.; DAVILA, ALBERTO M. R.; IKUTA, CASSIA Y.; NETO, JOSE S. FERREIRA; GUIMARAES, ANA MARCIA S.; et al. Genomic analysis of an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in a man-made multi-host species system: A call for action on wildlife in Brazil. TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES, OCT 2021. (17/04617-3, 19/10896-8)

CARNEIRO, PAULO ALEX; ZIMPEL, CRISTINA KRAEMER; PASQUATTI, TAYNARA NUNES; SILVA-PEREIRA, TAIANA T.; TAKATANI, HARUO; SILVA, CHRISTIAN B. D. G.; ABRAMOVITCH, ROBERT B.; SA GUIMARAES, ANA MARCIA; DAVILA, ALBERTO M. R.; ARAUJO, FLABIO R.; et al. Genetic Diversity and Potential Paths of Transmission of Mycobacterium bovis in the Amazon: The Discovery of M. bovis Lineage Lb1 Circulating in South America. FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE, v. 8, FEB 16 2021. (16/26108-0, 19/10896-8, 17/04617-3)