Phenotypic and molecular characterization of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium elephantis from human specimens.
Eleven strains of a rapidly growing mycobacterium were isolated from patient specimens originating from various regions of the province of Ontario, Canada, over a 2-year period. Unique high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and PCR-restriction enzyme pattern analysis (PRA) profiles initially suggested a new Mycobacterium species, while sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed a sequence match with Mycobacterium sp. strain MCRO 17 (GenBank accession no. X93028), an isolate determined to be unique which is to date uncharacterized, and also a close similarity to M. elephantis (GenBank accession no. AJ010747), with six base pair variations. A complete biochemical profile of these isolates revealed a species of mycobacteria with phenotypic characteristics similar to those of M. flavescens. HPLC, PRA, and 16S rRNA sequencing of strain M. elephantis DSM 44368(T) and result comparisons with the clinical isolates revealed that these strains were in fact M. elephantis, a newly described species isolated from an elephant. All strains were isolated from human samples, 10 from sputum and 1 from an axillary lymph node.
Turenne
Christine
C
National Reference Centre for Mycobacteriology, National Microbiology Laboratory, Population and Public Health Branch, Health Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba. cturenne@hc-sc.gc.ca
Chedore
Pamela
P
Wolfe
Joyce
J
Jamieson
Frances
F
May
Kevin
K
Kabani
Amin
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D009171:Mycolic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping / Q000379:methods; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D009171:Mycolic Acids; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S