AUTHOR=Song Zexuan , Liu Zhi , Ma Aijing , Liu Chunfa , He Wencong , Zeng Xiangjie , Wang Yiting , He Ping , Liu Dongxin , Zhao Bing , Xia Hui , Wang Shengfen , Zhao Yanlin 

TITLE=High diversity of clinical Mycobacterium intracellulare in China revealed by whole genome sequencing

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.989587

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.989587

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Mycobacterium intracellulare</italic> is the most common cause of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease, with a rapidly growing prevalence worldwide. In this study, we performed comparative genomic analysis and antimicrobial susceptibility characteristics analysis of 117 clinical <italic>M. intracellulare</italic> strains in China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that clinical <italic>M. intracellulare</italic> strains had high genetic diversity and were not related to the geographical area. Notably, most strains (76.07%, 89/117) belonged to <italic>Mycobacterium paraintracellulare</italic> (MP) and <italic>Mycobacterium indicus pranii</italic> (MIP) in the genome, and we named them MP-MIP strains. These MP-MIP strains may be regarded as a causative agent of chronic lung disease. Furthermore, our data demonstrated that clarithromycin, amikacin, and rifabutin showed strong antimicrobial activity against both <italic>M. intracellulare</italic> and MP-MIP strains <italic>in vitro</italic>. Our findings also showed that there was no clear correlation between the <italic>rrs, rrl</italic>, and DNA gyrase genes (<italic>gyrA</italic> and <italic>gyrB</italic>) and the aminoglycosides, macrolides, and moxifloxacin resistance, respectively. In conclusion, this study highlights the high diversity of <italic>M. intracellulare</italic> in the clinical setting and suggests paying great attention to the lung disease caused by MP-MIP.</p>