Abstract:
Background: Mycobacterium yongonense is a recently described novel species belonging to Mycobacterium
avium complex, which is the most prevalent aetiology of non-tuberculous mycobacteria associated with
pulmonary infections, and poses tuberculosis diagnostic challenges in high-burden, resource-con-
strained settings.
Methods: Whole genome shotgun sequencing and comparative microbial genomic analyses were used to
characterize the isolate from a patient diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) after
relapse.
Results: The genome sequence of the
first case of M. yongonense (M. yongonense RT 955-2015) in Tanzania
is presented. Sequence analysis revealed that the RT 955-2015 strain had a high similarity to M.
yongonense 05-1390(T) (98.74%) and Mycobacterium chimaera DSM 44623(T) (98%). Its 16S rRNA showed
similarity to Mycobacterium paraintracellulare KCTC 290849(T) (100%), Mycobacterium intracellulare ATCC
13950(T) (100%), M. chimaera DSM 44623(T) (99.9%), and M. yongonense 05-1390(T) (98%). The strain
exhibited a substantially different rpoB sequence to that of M. yongonense 05-1390 (95.16%), but closely
related to that of M. chimaera DSM 44623(T) (99.86%), M. intracellulare ATCC 13950(T), (99.53%), and M.
paraintracellulare KCTC 290849(T) (99.53%).
Conclusions: In light of the OrthoANI algorithm and phylogenetic analysis, it was concluded that the
isolate was M. yongonense Type II genotype, which is an indication that the patient was misdiagnosed
with TB/MDR-TB and received inappropriate treatment.
© 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
