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

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 strains in China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that clinical strains had high genetic diversity and were not related to the geographical area. Notably, most strains (76.07%, 89/117) belonged to (MP) and (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 and MP-MIP strains . Our findings also showed that there was no clear correlation between the , and DNA gyrase genes ( and ) and the aminoglycosides, macrolides, and moxifloxacin resistance, respectively. In conclusion, this study highlights the high diversity of in the clinical setting and suggests paying great attention to the lung disease caused by MP-MIP.