Evaluation of the role of and in the dominant multidrug-resistant clone B0/W148.

UNLABELLED

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of represent an obstacle to eradicating tuberculosis (TB) due to the low treatment success rate of MDR TB. Among them, the MDR B0/W148 clone has recently evolved from the Beijing lineage 2 and is widely disseminated in Russia and Europe. To get more insights into the genetic factors underlying the evolutionary success of the MDR B0/W148 clone in addition to environmental and patient-related features, we focused on two mutations specific to this clone that are found in the transcriptional regulators WhiB6 and KdpDE and investigated in a H37Rv strain background the transcriptional profile associated with these mutations and their impact on the and growth characteristics. Through the construction and use of H37Rv∆, H37Rv∆, and complemented strains, neither mutation impaired the growth of in standard mycobacterial growth media. The mutation T51P in prevented the upregulation of 9 genes in the core region and 44 genes elsewhere in the genome, while the deletion of two nucleotides in leads to a fusion protein of KdpD with KdpE that inhibits the transcriptional activity of KdpE. Neither mutation led to hypervirulence in a mouse infection model. These results point to the role of other MDR B0/W148 specific mutations in the wide geographic diffusion of this clone and/or put in question a hypothesized hypervirulence as a driving factor for this large dissemination.

IMPORTANCE

Human tuberculosis (TB), caused by the bacterium , remains a global public health issue estimated to have been responsible for 1.25 million deaths in 2023. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of , resistant to rifampicin and isoniazid, lead to lower treatment success. Among them, the MDR B0/W148 clone has widely disseminated in Russia and Europe. To get more insights into the genetic factors underlying the evolutionary success of this clone, we investigated two strain-specific mutations found in the transcriptional regulators WhiB6 and KdpDE. By constructing and analyzing laboratory strains carrying these specific mutations, we found numerous changes in their transcriptional profiles, whereas we observed only a little impact of these mutations on the virulence of in a mouse infection model. Our study provides new insights into the transcriptional landscape of the selected MDR strains, although no direct connection to virulence could be established.