Expansion of pneumococcal serotype 23F and 14 lineages with genotypic changes in capsule polysaccharide locus and virulence gene profiles post introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Blantyre, Malawi

Since the introduction of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in Malawi in 2011, there has been persistent carriage of vaccine serotype (VT) Streptococcus pneumoniae, despite high vaccine coverage. To determine if there has been a genetic change within the VT capsule polysaccharide (cps) loci since the vaccine's introduction, we compared 1022 whole-genome-sequenced VT isolates from 1998 to 2019. We identified the clonal expansion of a multidrug-resistant, penicillin non-susceptible serotype 23F GPSC14-ST2059 lineage, a serotype 14 GPSC9-ST782 lineage and a novel serotype 14 sequence type GPSC9-ST18728 lineage. Serotype 23F GPSC14-ST2059 had an I253T mutation within the capsule oligosaccharide repeat unit polymerase Wzy protein, which is predicted in silico to alter the protein pocket cavity. Moreover, serotype 23F GPSC14-ST2059 had SNPs in the DNA binding sites for the cps transcriptional repressors CspR and SpxR. Serotype 14 GPSC9-ST782 harbours a non-truncated version of the large repetitive protein (Lrp), containing a Cna protein B-type domain which is also present in proteins associated with infection and colonisation. These emergent lineages also harboured genes associated with antibiotic resistance, and the promotion of colonisation and infection which were absent in other lineages of the same serotype. Together these data suggest that in addition to serotype replacement, modifications of the capsule locus associated with changes in virulence factor expression and antibiotic resistance may promote vaccine escape. In summary, the study highlights that the persistence of vaccine serotype carriage despite high vaccine coverage in Malawi may be partly caused by expansion of VT lineages post-PCV13 rollout.