Aim: To investigate the phylogeography of French Francisella tularensis ssp. holarctica isolates.
Methods and results: Canonical SNPs and MLVA were used to genotype 103 French F. tularensis ssp. holarctica isolates. We confirmed the presence of one subclade, the central and western European group (B.Br.FTNF002-00), and identified four major MLVA genotypes with no obvious geographical differentiation.
Conclusions: The lack of geographical resolution among MLVA genotypes suggests rapid dispersal, convergent evolution or a combination of the two.
Significance and impact of the study: This study expands knowledge of the phylogeography of one of the two dominant European F. tularensis ssp. holarctica subclades and illustrates the need for additional SNP discovery within this subclade.
© 2010 The Authors. Letters in Applied Microbiology © 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology.