PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ameke, Selassie AU - Asare, Prince AU - Aboagye, Sammy Yaw AU - Otchere, Isaac Darko AU - Osei-Wusu, Stephen AU - Yeboah-Manu, Dorothy AU - Asante-Poku, Adwoa TI - <em>Phylogenetic population structure</em> and drug resistance <em>of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in the Volta Region of Ghana</em> AID - 10.1101/2020.08.27.269662 DP - 2020 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2020.08.27.269662 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/08/27/2020.08.27.269662.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/08/27/2020.08.27.269662.full AB - Context Available molecular epidemiological data from recent studies suggest significant genetic variation between the different phylogenetic lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and the MTBC lineages might have adapted to different human populationsAim This study sought to determine the phylogenetic population structure of clinical MTBC isolates from the Volta Region of Ghana.Methods The MTBC isolates obtained from collected sputum samples were characterized by standard methods. Non-tuberculous mycobacterial isolates were characterized by amplification of the heat shock protein 65 (hsp65) gene and sequencing. The drug susceptibility profiles of the MTBCs determined using GenoType MTBDRplusResults One hundred and seventeen (117, 93.6%) out of 125 mycobacterial positive isolates were characterized as members of the MTBC of which M. tuberculosis sensu stricto (MTBss) and M. africanum (Maf) were respectively 94 (80.3%) and 23 (19.7%). In all, 39 distinct spoligotype patterns were obtained; 26 for MTBss and 13 for Maf lineages. Spoligotyping identified 89 (76.04 %) Lineage 4, 16 (13.7 %) Lineage 5, 7 (6.0%) Lineage 6, 3 (2.6%) Lineage 2, 1(0.9%) Lineage 3 and 1 (0.9%) Lineage 1. Among the Lineage 4 isolates, 62/89 (69.7%) belonged to Cameroon sub-lineage, 13 (14.6%) Ghana, 8 (9.0%) Haarlem, 2 (2.2%) LAM, 1 (1.1%) Uganda I, 1 (1.1%) X and the remaining two were orphan. Significant localization of Maf was found within the Ho municipality (n=13, 29.5%) compared to the more cosmopolitan Ketu-South/Aflao (n=3, 8.3%) (p-value= 0.017). Eight (8) non-tuberculous mycobacteria were characterized as M. abscessus (7) and M. fortuitum (1)Conclusion We confirmed the importance of M. africanum lineages as a cause of TB in the Volta region of Ghana.Key Message The phylogenetic population structure obtained agrees with previously described prevalence of M. tuberculosis complex phylogenetic lineages from other regions of Ghana. It also confirms the stable prevalence of M. africanum as an important human TB causing pathogen in Ghana.