Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis PtpA is an endogenous tyrosine phosphatase secreted during infection.

Adaptive gene expression in prokaryotes is mediated by protein kinases and phosphatases. These regulatory proteins mediate phosphorylation of histidine or aspartate in two-component systems and serine/threonine or tyrosine in eukaryotic and eukaryote-like protein kinase systems. The genome sequence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, the causative agent of Johne's disease, does not possess a defined tyrosine kinase. Nevertheless, it encodes for protein tyrosine phosphatases. Here, we report that Map1985, is a functional low-molecular tyrosine phosphatase that is secreted intracellularly upon macrophage infection. This finding suggests that Map1985 might contribute to the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis by dephosphorylating essential macrophage signaling and/or adaptor molecules.