Discrimination of members of the Mycobacterium avium complex by polymerase chain reaction

ABSTRACT

Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) species cannot be discriminated by the usual methods of biochemical identification of mycobacteria. This study showed that amplification by PCR of DT1 and DT6, two single copy sequences identified in the genome of M. avium serotype 2, the insertion sequence IS1245, found to be consistently present in M. avium strains and the heat-shock protein gene hsp65, followed by restriction polymorphism analysis, are rapid and accurate tests for the differentiation of the species M. avium, M. intracellulare, and M. scrofulaceum.