Fig 4. Definition of “F4-family”.

(A) Geographical location: in the map, shades of grey indicate the percentage of isolates of the“F4 family” spoligotypes from the total M. bovis population, showing a principal localization in the South of France. (B) Spoligotype particularity: the chosen spoligotype, SB0818, the likely common ancestor of this family, is characterized by classic M. bovis missing spacers 3, 9, 16, and 39 to 43 plus the absence of the spacer 33, specific to the “F4-family”. (C) VNTR characteristics: “F4-family” possesses a truncated repetition (30 bp instead of 56 bp) in locus 4052, which is counted for the allele definition. In the example, other strains possess five repetitions but in the case of “F4 family”, the fifth repetition is truncated and is represented as a “5s”.