Mycobacterium pinnipedii
| Mycobacterium pinnipedii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Actinomycetota |
| Class: | Actinomycetia |
| Order: | Mycobacteriales |
| Family: | Mycobacteriaceae |
| Genus: | Mycobacterium |
| Species: | M. pinnipedii |
| Binomial name | |
| Mycobacterium pinnipedii Cousins et al. 2003, ATCC BAA-688 | |
Mycobacterium pinnipedii is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex which primarily infects seals. It is a slowly growing Mycobacterium. The species is named after the pinnipeds, the organisms from which M. pinnipedii was first isolated.
In 2014, a genetic study showed that a Peruvian human skeleton dating to 1000 CE had been infected with a form of tuberculosis most closely related to M. pinnipedii, suggesting that seals had served as a vector for transmission of tuberculosis from the Old World to the New.