BioProject

Mycobacterium mungi, a member of the M. tuberculosis complex has emerged in wild banded mongoose in Northern Botswana and northwest Zimbabwe. More...

Mycobacterium mungi, a member of the M. tuberculosis complex has emerged in wild banded mongoose in Northern Botswana and northwest Zimbabwe. Molecular examinations place the organism in the wildlife associated lineage six of the M. tuberculosis complex that includes M. suricattae in meerkats (Suricata suricatta), and Dassie bacillus in rock hyrax (Procavia capensis), with one case in West Africa in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ssp., chimpanzee bacillus). The pathogen is primarily transmitted between mongoose through an environmental pathway where infected secretions used in olfactory communication behaviors expose and invade the mongoose host through abrasions or injuries to the skin and/or nasal planum. Because this Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) pathogen has not been successfully cultivated in vitro, whole genome shotgun sequencing was performed directly from affected tissue. Bacterium obtained from highly infected liver tissue. Bacterium separated from host by centrifugation before DNA extraction. Reads were assembled and all contigs verified as part of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Less...