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PMID: 7698114 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Mycobacterial taxonomy.

European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology ·Vol. 13 ·No. 11 ·1994-11-00 ·Pages 884-901

Shinnick TM, Good RC

Abstract

The minimal standards for including a species in the genus Mycobacterium are i) acid-alcohol fastness, ii) the presence of mycolic acids containing 60-90 carbon atoms which are cleaved to C22 to C26 fatty acid methyl esters by pyrolysis, and iii) a guanine + cytosine content of the DNA of 61 to 71 mol %. Currently, there are 71 recognized or proposed species of Mycobacterium which can be divided into two main groups based on growth rate. The slowly growing species require > 7 days to form visible colonies on solid media while the rapidly growing species require < 7 days. Slowly growing species are often pathogenic for humans or animals while rapidly growing species are usually considered nonpathogenic for humans, although important exceptions exist. The taxonomic and diagnostic characteristics of medically important species and of newly described species of the Mycobacterium genus are reviewed.

MeSH Terms
Animals Humans Mycobacterium/classification
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Shinnick T M
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
Good R C
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Article Info
Journal
European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology
Abbr.
Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis
ISSN
0934-9723
DOI
10.1007/BF02111489
Published
1994-11-00
Pages
884-901
Language
English
Region
Germany
NLM ID
8804297
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1007/BF02111489 View journal details
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