Insights from the Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium lepraemurium: Massive Gene Decay and Reductive Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium lepraemurium is the causative agent of murine leprosy, a chronic, granulomatous disease similar to human leprosy. Due to the similar clinical manifestations of human and murine leprosy and the difficulty of growing both bacilli axenically, Mycobacterium leprae and M. lepraemurium were once thought to be closely related, although it was later suggested that M. lepraemurium might be related to Mycobacterium avium In this study, the complete genome of M. lepraemurium was sequenced using a combination of PacBio and Illumina sequencing. Phylogenomic analyses confirmed that M. lepraemurium is a distinct species within the M. avium complex (MAC). The M. lepraemurium genome is 4.05 Mb in length, which is considerably smal

SUBMITTER: Benjak A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5646247 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature