Mycobacterial infections in animals.

Mycobacteria other than mammalian tubercle bacilli are capable of producing disease in a wide range of animal hosts. Serotypes of Mycobacterium avium complex cause the most important mycobacterial diseases in domestic animals. Although disease is most common in lymph nodes, a wide variety of tissues may be involved, including tissue from spleen, liver, lungs, kidney, central nervous system, gall bladder, intestinal mucosa, skeletal system, ovaries, and the skin.

Recovery of pathogenic fungi from clinical specimens submitted for mycobacteriological culture.

A total of 332 major pathogenic fungi were isolated from specimens cultured onto both fungal culture media and media used for culturing mycobacteria from January 1968 to June 1975. Only 72 (21.7%) fungi were recovered on media used for culturing mycobacteria. The effect of sodium hydroxide treatment was evaluated and shown to be detrimental to the recovery of fungi. It is recommended that clinical laboratories not rely on mycobacteriological cultures to recover fungal pathogens.

Differentiation between Mycobacterium kansasii and Mycobacterium marinum by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of cellular fatty acids.

Comparison of the cellular fatty acids of 10 strains of Mycobacterium marinum and 35 strains of Mycobacterium kansasii revealed similarities within each species but differences between these two photochromogenic mycobacteria. A branched-chain fatty acid characteristic of M. kansasii was found in trace amounts in 2 of the 10 strains of M. marinum.

Stability of barium sulfate turbidity standards.

McFarland barium sulfate standards prepared in 1952 were compared spectrophotometrically with freshly and identically prepared standards; the results were nearly identical.

Comparison by gas-liquid chromatography of the fatty acids acids of Mycobacterium avium and some other nonphotochromogenic mycobacteria.

Fifty-eight strains of nonphotochromogenic mycobacteria representing nine different serotypes were studied, including 38 strains of Mycobacterium avium and 20 strains of Battey bacilli. The lipids were extracted from whole cells, saponified with potassium hydroxide, and esterified with diazomethane. The fatty-acid profiles determined by gas-liquid chromatography included saturated fatty acids ranging from C(8) to C(24), plus some unsaturated analogues and a branched-chain acid. No consistent differences in the fatty-acid profiles were observed between strains of M. avium and Battey bacilli. Quantitative differences in the means (significant at P < 0.01) were observed in the relative amounts of 14:0, 16:1, 18:0, 18:1, and a branched-chain acid among strains of the same serotype. We were unable to differentiate the fatty-acid profiles of recently isolated strains or those maintained in culture for more than 2 years.

Fatty acids of Mycobacterium kansasii.

The cellular fatty acids of 35 strains of Mycobacterium kansasii isolated from clinical material were analyzed to establish properties by which we could identify and characterize these acid-fast microorganisms. The fatty acids were extracted from cells grown in liquid synthetic media, and they were analyzed as methyl esters by gas-liquid chromatography. The fatty acid profiles of all strains were similar. They differed from fatty acid profiles of other mycobacteria by their content of a saturated fatty acid with a methyl group at C2.