Phylogenetic uniqueness of Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis isolated from an abnormal pulmonary bovine case

Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis (MAH) is an important cause of infection in human pulmonary and swine intestinal cases. Although MAH is isolated from environmental sources frequently, infections of other animals have rarely been analysed. Recently, we detected granulomatous inflammation in bovine lung as an abnormal postmortem inspection case. To ascertain its genetic profile, we conducted a variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis and genomic characterization using deep sequencing. The VNTR type was a unique profile that differed from reported genotypes, but it was assigned within a broad genotypic complex of isolates from human patients and bathrooms. Genomic comparison with 116 registered genome sequences of the subspecies revealed that the strain was separate from five major genetic population groups proposed previously. Although the infection source remains unclear, its isolation from various resources such as animal infection cases should be elucidated more extensively to reveal its genetic diversity and ecological context.