Phylogenetic analysis of Bacillus anthracis strains from Western Siberia reveals a new genetic cluster in the global population of the species

BACKGROUND: Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The most anthrax-endemic regions of Russia are Siberia and North Caucasus. Previously, genotyping of Russian B.anthracis isolates was carried out using canSNP and MLVA data; these methods yield lower resolution results compared to whole genome SNP analysis (wgSNP). In this research, we have used wgSNP method for genotyping of 10 B.anthracis isolates, obtained during 1961–2016 in Russia on territory of Western Siberia. RESULTS: We have analyzed 185 B.anthracis genomes available in GenBank database and genomes of 10 isolates obtained in this study to determine the place of Russian isolates in the global phylogeny of B.anthracis. For the studied genomes we have detected 7203 SNPs, which were used for building a phylogenetic reconstruction with Maximum Likelihood Method. Results of the phylogenetic analysis indicate that Russian strains belong to three different genetic groups. Three strains belong to genetic group “Ames”, two strains – to “STI” group. Five strains belong to the main genetic line B, and four of them form a subcluster, described for the first time, which we have named “Siberia”. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the data on genetic diversity of B.anthracis strains on the territory of Western Siberia is presented for the first time. As a result of complex phylogenetic analysis, the place of these isolates was determined in the global phylogenetic structure of the B.anthracis population. We describe a new cluster in the main genetic line B for the first time. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-019-6060-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.