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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.

Sec. Clinical Infectious Diseases

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1603234

This article is part of the Research TopicExpanded Genus Brucella: from Taxonomy to Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis ChallengesView all 12 articles

Phylogenetic Evidence for Nationwide Expansion Brucella melitensis Lineages Drives the Re-Emerging and Epidemic of Human Brucellosis in Jiangsu, China

Provisionally accepted
Wang  WeixiangWang Weixiang1Zhou  LuZhou Lu2Teng  GeTeng Ge1Zikang  YanZikang Yan1Lan  HuangLan Huang3Zhongming  TanZhongming Tan2Zhiguo  LiuZhiguo Liu4*Songning  DingSongning Ding1Zhenjun  LiZhenjun Li4
  • 1Nanjing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 2Jiangsu Provincial Medical Innovation Center, National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Enteric Pathogenic Microbiology, Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China
  • 3Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 4National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Human brucellosis has re-emerged as a major public health threat in Jiangsu Province, but the sources and transmission dynamics of circulating strains remain poorly understood. In this study, we integrated conventional biotyping, whole-genome sequencing single-nucleotide polymorphism (WGS-SNP) analysis, and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of Brucella melitensis in the region. Among 89 isolates analyzed, all were confirmed as B. melitensis (16 as biovar 1 and 73 as biovar 3), with a widespread geographic distribution across 15 cities in Jiangsu and adjacent areas, indicating extensive regional dissemination. All strains belonged to sequence type 8 (ST8) and genotype group II, clustering within the East Mediterranean lineage. Genomic resolution classified these strains into five SNP clades (C-I to C-V) and 17 SNP-based genotypes (STs), revealing a ladder-like phylogenetic structure. The lack of distinct geographic clustering suggests frequent cross-regional transmission, likely facilitated by the movement of infected sheep and goats. Phylogenomic analysis through cgMLST revealed distinct clustering of the 17 STs into two major groups (G-I and G-II), with 15 STs (88.2%) showing high genetic concordance between Jiangsu isolates and strains from China's northeastern and northwestern. This compelling genomic evidence establishes that the current human brucellosis epidemic in Jiangsu is being driven by the nationwide expansion of dominant B. melitensis lineages. The findings provide crucial insights into the infection sources and interregional transmission dynamics of brucellosis in southern China, highlighting the significant role of domestic animal movement in pathogen dissemination, demanding coordinated crossregional interventions including strict implementing intervention strategies and enhance disease surveillance.

Keywords: Human brucellosis, Brucella melitensis, WGS-SNP, phylogeny analysis, cgMLST 47, WGS-SNP, Human brucellosis

Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 01 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Weixiang, Lu, Ge, Yan, Huang, Tan, Liu, Ding and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Zhiguo Liu, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Beijing, China

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