Unraveling the genetics of Bovine Johne's disease: Lessons learned from human inflammatory bowel disease

Johne's disease is a chronic, granulomatous enteritis of ruminants and some wild-type species that is caused by infection with Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis (MAP). This inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by a lengthy yet variable asymptomatic subclinical phase in which infected animals can transmit MAP to their progeny and herd mates; this is followed by a clinical phase characterized by chronic diarrhea, wasting, and …