, and "Mycobacterium tuberculosis subsp. canettii" ("M. canettii") (7, 29) (the name "M. canettii" is in quotation marks since it does not appear on the official List of Bacterial Names with Standing in Nomenclature [http://www.bacterio.cict.fr]). Members of the MtbC are highly related mycobacteria exhibiting remarkable nucleotide sequence level homogeneity despite varying in pathogenicity, geographic range, certain physiological features (such as colony morphology as well as profiles of resistance and susceptibility to inhibitors), epidemiology, and host preference (10,11,39). Notably, M. bovis has a wide host range but is primarily a bovid pathogen, goats are the natural host of M.caprae, and M. microti is most often isolated from small rodents, while M. tuberculosis is the predominant cause of human tuberculosis (2,3,39,44,45). However, each of the MtbC subspecies is known to infect humans (16,17,20,22,27,33,(43)(44)(45), and since most laboratories do not fully identify MtbC isolates, the true cause of tuberculosis in these patients and its source often remain undiscovered. An important health concern is the zoonotic transmission of some MtbC subspecies from animals to humans and vice versa. Of particular significance is the transmission of M. bovis to humans from cattle and unpasteurized milk as well as M. bovis BCG infection of immunocompromised individuals (1,21,27,33). M. bovis is naturally resistant to pyrazidamide, a first-line antituberculosis drug (31,36). Therefore, complete identification of MtbC isolates at the subspecies level is required in order to collect information on their epidemiology and also to enable appropriate patient treatment and public health measures.Various biological and molecular mycobacterial characteristics have been utilized to identify MtbC isolates but have limited applicability as MtbC taxonomical tools. Although certain Mycobacterium species-specific gene sequence differences work well to differentiate mycobacteria other than MtbC (MOTT) from each other and from the MtbC, to date none can discriminate the individual MtbC subspecies due to genetic invariance in the target loci (8,11,26,28,34,37,39,41). In contrast, a

A comparison of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates from seals (pinnipeds) in Australia, Argentina, Uruguay, Great Britain and New Zealand was undertaken to determine their relationships to each other and their taxonomic position within the complex. Isolates from 30 cases of tuberculosis in six species of pinniped and seven related isolates were compared to representative and standard strains of the M. tuberculosis complex. The seal isolates could be distinguished from other members of the M. tuberculosis complex, including the recently defined 'Mycobacterium canettii ' and 'Mycobacterium caprae', on the basis of host preference and phenotypic and genetic tests. Pinnipeds appear to be the natural host for this 'seal bacillus', although the organism is also pathogenic in guinea pigs, rabbits, humans, Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and, possibly, cattle. Infection caused by the seal bacillus is predominantly associated with granulomatous lesions in the peripheral lymph nodes, lungs, pleura, spleen and peritoneum. Cases of disseminated disease have been found. As with other members of the M. tuberculosis complex, aerosols are the most likely route of transmission. The name Mycobacterium pinnipedii sp. nov. is proposed for this novel member of the M. tuberculosis complex (the type strain is 6482 T =ATCC BAA-688 T =NCTC 13288 T ).Abbreviations: BCG, Bacille Calmette-Gué rin; FAFLP, fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism; PZA, pyrazinamide; SS, seal spoligotype; TCH, thiophen-2-carboxylic acid hydrazide.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the etiologic agent of tuberculosis and can be accurately detected by laboratories using commercial genetic tests. Nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) causing other mycobacterioses can be difficult to identify. The identification processes are confounded by an increasing diversity of newly characterized NTM species. The ubiquitous nature of NTM, combined with their potential to be opportunistic pathogens in immunocompromised as well as nonimmunodeficient patients, further complicates the problem of their identification. Since clinical case management varies depending on the etiologic agent, laboratories must identify the species in a timely manner. However, only a few identification methods can detect the species diversity within the Mycobacterium genus. Over the last decade, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the mycolic acids has become an accepted method for identification of mycobacteria. In this review, we assess its development and usefulness as an identification technique for Mycobacterium species

The current study evaluated Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for genomic deletions. One locus in our panel of PCR targets failed to amplify in ϳ30% of strains. A single novel long sequence polymorphism (>26.3 kb) was characterized and designated RD Rio . Homologous recombination between two similar protein-coding genes is proposed as the mechanism for deleting or modifying 10 genes, including two potentially immunogenic PPE proteins. The flanking regions of the RD Rio locus were identical in all strains bearing the deletion. Genetic testing by principal genetic group, spoligotyping, variable-number tandem repeats of mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units (MIRU-VNTR), and IS6110-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis cumulatively support the idea that RD Rio strains are derived from a common ancestor belonging solely to the Latin American-Mediterranean spoligotype family. The RD Rio lineage is therefore the predominant clade causing tuberculosis (TB) in Rio de Janeiro and, as indicated by genotypic clustering in MIRU-VNTR analysis, the most significant source of recent transmission. Limited retrospective reviews of bacteriological and patient records showed a lack of association with multidrug resistance or specific risk factors for TB. However, trends in the data did suggest that RD Rio strains may cause a form of TB with a distinct clinical presentation. Overall, the high prevalence of this genotype may be related to enhanced virulence, transmissibility, and/or specific adaptation to a Euro-Latin American host population. The identification of RD Rio strains outside of Brazil points to the ongoing intercontinental dissemination of this important genotype. Further studies are needed to determine the differential strain-specific features, pathobiology, and worldwide prevalence of RD Rio M. tuberculosis.Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and curable infectious disease that nonetheless remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in resource-poor nations (14). TB also threatens to reemerge in developed nations as a consequence of increased immigration, its synergy with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS epidemic, and a deprioritization of TB control efforts in public health policy (64). The principal etiologic agent of human TB is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but other species within the M. tuberculosis complex (MTC), such as "Mycobacterium canettii" (proposed name), Mycobacterium africanum, and Mycobacterium bovis, are also known to cause TB in humans (30). Although the MTC is considered a relatively homogenous taxon at the DNA sequence level, an increasing number of species-, lineage-, and strain-specific genetic variations have been revealed by the identification of multicopy repeat elements, targeted interrogations of specific genetic loci, and the comparison of whole-genome sequences of several MTC species and strains (21,24,31). These differences have been exploited as markers for epidemiological purposes and/or to assist in the identific...

The Mycobacterium fortuitum third biovariant complex (sorbitol-negative and sorbitol-positive) contains unnamed taxa first characterized in 1991. These organisms can cause respiratory infections, a spectrum of soft tissue and skeletal infections, bacteraemia and disseminated disease. To evaluate this group of organisms, clinical reference isolates and the type strains of M. fortuitum third biovariant complex sorbitol-negative (n=21), M. fortuitum third biovariant complex sorbitol-positive (n=3), M. fortuitum (n=3), Mycobacterium peregrinum (pipemidic acid-susceptible) (n=1), Mycobacterium porcinum (n=1), Mycobacterium senegalense (n=2) and Mycobacterium septicum (n=1) were characterized by using conventional phenotypic (morphological, physiological and antimicrobial susceptibilities), chemotaxonomic (HPLC and cellular fatty acids) and genotypic [RFLP of the rRNA gene (ribotyping), PCR-RFLP of a 439 bp segment of the 65 kDa hsp gene (PCR restriction analysis) and 16S rRNA gene sequence] analysis, DNA G+C content and DNA–DNA relatedness analyses. The results of these studies indicated that the strains comprised M. porcinum (n=13), M. septicum (n=1) and four novel closely related genetic groups within the M. fortuitum third biovariant complex: Mycobacterium boenickei sp. nov. (n=6), Mycobacterium houstonense sp. nov. (n=2), Mycobacterium neworleansense sp. nov. (n=1) and Mycobacterium brisbanense sp. nov. (n=1), with type strains ATCC 49935T (=W5998T=DSM 44677T), ATCC 49403T (=W5198T=DSM 44676T) ATCC 49404T (=W6705T=DSM 44679T) and ATCC 49938T (=W6743T=DSM 44680T), respectively.

Mycolic acids extracted from saponified mycobacterial cells were examined as p-bromophenacyl esters by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Standard HPLC patterns were developed for species of Mycobacterium by examination of strains from culture collections and other well-characterized isolates. Relative retention times of peaks and peak height comparisons were used to develop a differentiation scheme that was 98% accurate for the species examined. A rapid, cost-effective HPLC method which offers an alternative approach to the identification of mycobacteria is described.

Molecular systematics support the revival of Mycobacterium salmoniphilum (ex Ross 1960) sp. nov., nom. rev., a species closely related to Mycobacterium chelonae Mycobacterial infections in fish are usually attributed to strains of Mycobacterium marinum, Mycobacterium chelonae and Mycobacterium fortuitum. Bacteria identified as M. chelonae have been isolated numerous times from salmonid fishes. Recently, this bacterium has been associated with salmon mortalities in the aquaculture industry. An M. chelonae-like species from salmon, 'Mycobacterium salmoniphilum', was described in 1960. However, the species name lost standing in nomenclature when it was omitted from the 1980 Approved Lists of Bacterial Names because the species could not be distinguished with confidence from M. fortuitum. In the 1980s, mycobacteria isolated from salmon were characterized as a distinct subspecies, 'Mycobacterium chelonae subsp. piscarium'. Again, the uncertainty of the validity of the species resulted in the subsequent withdrawal of the name. Since then, most studies have considered isolates from salmon to be M. chelonae. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the small-subunit rRNA, hsp65 and rpoB genes was used to examine the taxonomic relatedness of type cultures and authentic isolates in our culture collection available from earlier studies. The M. chelonae-like strains from salmon were phylogenetically distinct from other Mycobacterium strains and members of the M. chelonae complex. Moreover, the cell-wall-bound mycolic acids were not representative of known mycolate patterns for M. chelonae-complex organisms. These results supported the status of the species as a separate taxon and effect the valid publication of the name 'M. salmoniphilum' as Mycobacterium salmoniphilum (ex Ross 1960) sp. nov., nom. rev., with the type strain SC T (5ATCC 13578 T 5DSM 43276 T).

Four strains of novel, rapidly growing, acid–alcohol-fast-staining bacteria were characterized with a polyphasic approach. Isolates were received by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from domestic health department laboratories for reference testing as unidentifiable, clinical mycobacteria. Bacteria were rod-shaped and produced non-pigmented (white to beige), non-photochromogenic, smooth or wrinkled-rough colonies on Middlebrook 7H10 and 7H11 media at 33 °C. The smooth and wrinkled colony forms were representative of two species with 68·0 and 72·0 mol% DNA G+C content. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and mycolic acids. Species were characterized by cellular fatty acids of C10 : 0, C14 : 0, C16 : 1ω9t, C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω9c and 10-methyl C18 : 0 (tuberculostearic acid). HPLC analysis of mycolic acids produced a novel late-emerging, genus-specific mycolate pattern. TLC analysis demonstrated a novel α +-mycolate. Species were 98·9 % similar by comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences; however, the DNA–DNA association was <28 %. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated an association with Rhodococcus equi, although a DNA–DNA relatedness value of 2 % did not support a close relationship. PCR analysis of a proposed, selected actinomycete-specific 439 bp fragment of the 65 kDa heat-shock protein was negative for three of the four isolates. The creation of Segniliparaceae fam. nov. is proposed to encompass the genus Segniliparus gen. nov., including two novel species, the type species Segniliparus rotundus sp. nov. and Segniliparus rugosus sp. nov., with the respective type strains CDC 1076T (=ATCC BAA-972T=CIP 108378T) and CDC 945T (=ATCC BAA-974T=CIP 108380T).