<i>Mycobacterium avium</i> subsp. <i>paratuberculosis</i> Strains Isolated from Crohn's Disease Patients and Animal Species Exhibit Similar Polymorphic Locus Patterns

Abstract

Analysis of short sequence repeats of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolated from Crohn's disease patients identified two alleles, both of which clustered with strains derived from animals with Johne's disease. Identification of a limited number of genotypes among human strains implies the existence of human disease-associated genotypes and strain sharing with animals.