Prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Taiwan: A Model for Strain Evolution Linked to Population Migration

The global evolution and spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), one of the most successful bacterial pathogens, remain a mystery. Advances in molecular technology in the past decade now make it possible to understand MTB strain evolution and transmission in the context of human population migration. Taiwan is a relatively isolated island, serving as a mixing vessel over the past four centuries as colonization by different waves of ethnic groups occurred. By using mycobacterial tandem repeat sequences as genetic markers, the prevalence of MTB strains in Taiwan revealed an interesting association with historical migrations of different ethnic populations, thus providing a good model to explore the global evolution and spread of MTB.