Origin of <i>Neisseria meningitidis</i> clonal complex 4821

<i>Neisseria meningitidis</i> (<i>N. meningitidis</i>) is the causative agent of human invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). Clonal complex (CC) 4821 is a unique genetic cluster of <i>N. meningitidis</i> that emerged two decades ago in Anhui Province, China and became the predominant cluster. However, the evolutionary origin of CC4821 remains unclear. Herein, a distinct CC4821 clade was identified by a comprehensive cgMLST analysis of 26,801 <i>N. meningitidis</i> genomes. The CC4821 clade comprised 388 <i>N. meningitidis</i> isolates, with 364 assigned to CC4821, 1 assigned to CC8, and 23 unassigned (UA), as they could not be assigned to any defined CC. The phylogenetic analysis of the CC4821 clade revealed that six UA isolates, including the UA isolate NmR29026 collected in 1966 from Liaoning Province, China, occupied a basal position compared to all isolates within the CC4821 clade, indicating that CC4821 originated in the 1960s. Eight subclades (clades 1–8) were recognized within the CC4821 clade. Clades 1–4 have been present since the 1970s, while clades 5–8 emerged after the 2000s. Clade 5 represents a hyperinvasive lineage. <i>N. meningitidis</i> isolate HEB85-3, collected in 1985 in Hebei Province, China, exhibited the closest evolutionary relationship to clade 5, suggesting it is related to the origin of this hyperinvasive lineage. Our study reveals that CC4821 has emerged as the predominant cluster of <i>N. meningitidis</i> in China, representing the culmination of at least 60 years of continuous evolution in China, and is not solely attributable to the outbreak two decades ago.

<i>Neisseria meningitidis</i>（脑膜炎奈瑟菌，<i>N. meningitidis</i>）是人类侵袭性脑膜炎球菌病（invasive meningococcal disease, IMD）的致病病原体。克隆复合体（clonal complex, CC）4821是脑膜炎奈瑟菌的一个独特遗传簇，二十年前于中国安徽省出现并成为优势流行克隆簇。然而，CC4821的进化起源至今仍不明确。本研究通过对26801株脑膜炎奈瑟菌基因组开展全面的核心基因组多位点序列分型（core genome MLST, cgMLST）分析，鉴定出一个独特的CC4821演化支。该CC4821演化支共包含388株脑膜炎奈瑟菌分离株，其中364株归属于CC4821，1株归属于CC8，另有23株无法归类至任何既定克隆复合体，记为未归类（unassigned, UA）。对该CC4821演化支的系统发育分析显示，6株未归类分离株（包括1966年在中国辽宁省采集的UA分离株NmR29026）处于该演化支所有其他分离株的基部位置，表明CC4821的起源可追溯至20世纪60年代。该CC4821演化支内共划分出8个亚演化支（演化支1至8）：演化支1至4自20世纪70年代起就已存在，而演化支5至8则于21世纪初之后出现。其中演化支5代表高侵袭谱系。1985年在中国河北省采集的脑膜炎奈瑟菌分离株HEB85-3与演化支5的进化关系最为密切，提示其与该高侵袭谱系的起源相关。本研究揭示，CC4821现已成为中国境内脑膜炎奈瑟菌的优势克隆簇，其形成经历了至少60年在中国境内的持续演化过程，并非仅源于二十年前的某次暴发。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集包含关于Neisseria meningitidis clonal complex 4821（CC4821）的基因组分析数据，基于26,801个基因组进行cgMLST分析，识别出388个分离株，揭示了CC4821起源于1960年代，并在中国演化至少60年，包括一个高侵袭性谱系。数据集支持微生物学和遗传学研究，用于探索细菌进化、种群结构和疾病爆发。