Assessment of the Role of Mutation in Genetic Variations and Speciation among the Strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli Associated with Subclinical Mastitis from the Pastoral Herds in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15357049Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the evolutionary relationship and clonal relatedness of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli strains isolated from subclinical mastitis cases in pastoral herds in Nigeria. Phylogenetic analysis of gene sequences, performed using Bioedit and FigTree software, was employed to determine the evolutionary relationships among the strains. The analysis revealed that all strains of K. pneumoniae and E. coli shared a common ancestral origin, with E. coli strains evolving earlier than K. pneumoniae strains. Among the E. coli strains, E1 and E3 exhibited the highest clonal relatedness, while K6 and K1 were the most genotypically identical among the K. pneumoniae strains. The observed evolutionary relationships and clonal relatedness were primarily driven by continuous nucleotide sequence changes resulting from various mutations. These mutations led to speciation and genotypic divergence from the ancestral genomes of the investigated K. pneumoniae and E. coli strains.