Characterization of a novel plasmid, pMAH135, from Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis

• Published in: PloS one 2015-02, Vol.10 (2), p.e0117797-e0117797
• Main Authors: Uchiya, Kei-ichi, Takahashi, Hiroyasu, Nakagawa, Taku, Yagi, Tetsuya, Moriyama, Makoto, Inagaki, Takayuki, Ichikawa, Kazuya, Nikai, Toshiaki, Ogawa, Kenji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Antimicrobial agents; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Biosynthesis; Clinical isolates; Computational Biology; Disease; Drug resistance; Efflux; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Genotype; HIV; Hogs; Homology; Hospitals; Host specificity; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immunocompromised hosts; Immunosuppression; Infections; Lung diseases; Lung Diseases - microbiology; Minisatellite Repeats; Mycobacterium avium; Mycobacterium avium Complex - genetics; Mycobacterium avium Complex - metabolism; Mycobacterium avium Complex - physiology; Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection - microbiology; Mycobacterium marinum; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Nucleotides; Oxazoles - metabolism; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Patients; Pharmacy; Plasmids; Plasmids - genetics; Proteins; Suidae; Tuberculosis; Typing; Viruses
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117797

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) causes mainly two types of disease. The first is disseminated disease in immunocompromised hosts, such as individuals infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The second is pulmonary disease in individuals without systemic immunosuppression, and the incidence of this type is increasing worldwide. M. avium subsp. hominissuis, a component of MAC, causes infection in pigs as well as in humans. Many aspects of the different modes of M. avium infection and its host specificity remain unclear. Here, we report the characteristics and complete sequence of a novel plasmid, designated pMAH135, derived from M. avium strain TH135 in an HIV-negative patient with pulmonary MAC disease. The pMAH135 plasmid consists of 194,711 nucleotides with an average G + C content of 66.5% and encodes 164 coding sequences (CDSs). This plasmid was unique in terms of its homology to other mycobacterial plasmids. Interestingly, it contains CDSs with sequence homology to mycobactin biosynthesis proteins and type VII secretion system-related proteins, which are involved in the pathogenicity of mycobacteria. It also contains putative conserved domains of the multidrug efflux transporter. Screening of isolates from humans and pigs for genes located on pMAH135 revealed that the detection rate of these genes was higher in clinical isolates from pulmonary MAC disease patients than in those from HIV-positive patients, whereas the genes were almost entirely absent in isolates from pigs. Moreover, variable number tandem repeats typing analysis showed that isolates carrying pMAH135 genes are grouped in a specific cluster. Collectively, the pMAH135 plasmid contains genes associated with M. avium's pathogenicity and resistance to antimicrobial agents. The results of this study suggest that pMAH135 influence not only the pathological manifestations of MAC disease, but also the host specificity of MAC infection.