Genetic Structure of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis Population in Cattle Herds in Quebec as Revealed by Using a Combination of Multilocus Genomic Analyses

Abstract

c Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the etiological agent of paratuberculosis, a granulomatous enteritis affecting a wide range of domestic and wild ruminants worldwide. A variety of molecular typing tools are used to distinguish M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis strains, contributing to a better understanding of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis epidemiology. In the present study, PCR-based typing methods, including mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units/variable-number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) and small sequence repeats (SSR) in addition to IS1311 PCR-restriction enzyme analysis (PCR-REA), were used to investigate the genetic heterogeneity of 200 M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis strains from dairy herds located in the province of Quebec, Canada. The majority of strains were of the "cattle type," or type II, although 3 strains were of the "bison type." A total of 38 genotypes, including a novel one, were identified using a combination of 17 genetic markers, which generated a Simpson's index of genetic diversity of 0.876. Additional analyses revealed no differences in genetic diversity between environmental and individual strains. Of note, a spatial and spatiotemporal cluster was evidenced regarding the distribution of one of the most common genotypes. The population had an overall homogeneous genetic structure, although a few strains stemmed out of the consensus cluster, including the bison-type strains. The genetic structure of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis populations within most herds suggested intraherd dissemination and microevolution, although evidence of interherd contamination was also revealed. The level of genetic diversity obtained by combining MIRU-VNTR and SSR markers shows a promising avenue for molecular epidemiology investigations of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis transmission patterns.

Mycobacterium avium ssp . paratuberculosis detection in animals, food, water and other sources or vehicles of human exposure: A scoping review of the existing evidence

“…cattle, sheep, bison) found by species category is shown in Figure 4. Multiple fingerprinting techniques were used to show the diversity of M. paratuberculosis within populations, and it was argued that it is possible to demonstrate strain sharing within and across species by the degree of homogeneity between isolates (Stevenson et al, 2009 (Singh et al, 2010b;Sohal et al, 2014;Ahlstrom et al, 2015;Podder et al, 2015).…”

Development of a hierarchical typing approach for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and characterization of MAP field cultures from Central Germany

“…In previous studies, DI values for the INMV panel ranged from 0Á381 for Canadian (Sohal et al 2014) to 0Á88 for Austrian MAP isolates (Gerritsmann et al 2014). An almost identical value was detected in this work for MAP cultures in three German states (DI 0Á879).…”

Genetic Structure of SSR1 & SSR2 loci from Iranian Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis Isolates by a Short Sequence Repeat Analysis Approach

“…Analysis of gel electrophoresis findings regarding the SSR1 and SSR2 loci ( the well-known MAP K10 strain carry 19 and 10 copies of the unit repeat at these loci, respectively. This specific type therefore, benefits from a broader geographical frequency compared to other types reported from the US (27), Canada (27) and Europe (28) .Contrary to bovine Tb, no documented evidence on paratuberculosis activity in Iranian ruminants is available before importation of pure-breed animals initiated. Besides, some Iranian workers have blamed imported animals from the UK and Israel for transboundary introduction of the infection into Iran.…”