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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 1999, p. 1921-1926, Vol. 37, No. 6
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization of Mycobacterium africanum Isolates from West Africa

Richard Frothingham,1,2,* Percy L. Strickland,1,2 Gisela Bretzel,3 Srinivas Ramaswamy,4 James M. Musser,4 and Diana L. Williams5

Infectious Disease Section, Veterans Affairs Medical Center,1 and Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center,2 Durham, North Carolina; Armauer Hansen Institute, German Leprosy Relief Association, Würzburg, Germany3; Institute for the Study of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas4; and Molecular Biology Research Department, Laboratory Research Branch, G. W. Long Hansen's Disease Center at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana5

Received 5 January 1999/Returned for modification 13 February 1999/Accepted 20 March 1999

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex includes M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. africanum, and M. microti. Most clinical isolates are M. tuberculosis or M. bovis. These species can be distinguished by phenotypes and genotypes. However, there is no simple definition of M. africanum, and some authors question the validity of this species. We analyzed 17 human isolates from Sierra Leone, identified as M. africanum by biochemical and growth characteristics. We sequenced polymorphic genes and intergenic regions. We amplified DNA from six loci with variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTRs) and determined the exact number of repeats at each locus in each strain. All M. africanum isolates had the ancestral CTG Leu at katG codon 463. Drug-resistant M. africanum isolates had katG and rpoB mutations similar to those found in drug-resistant M. bovis and M. tuberculosis. Fourteen Sierra Leone M. africanum isolates (designated group A) had katG codon 203 ACC Thr, also found in M. africanumT (the T indicates type strain) from Senegal. Group A isolates clustered with M. africanumT by VNTR analysis. Three M. africanum isolates (group B) had katG codon 203 ACT Thr, found in M. tuberculosisT, and clustered with M. tuberculosisT by VNTR analysis. Phenotypic identification of M. africanum yielded a heterogeneous collection of strains. Genotypic analyses identified a cluster (M. africanum group A) which included M. africanumT and was distinct from the rest of the M. tuberculosis complex. Future studies of M. africanum should include both phenotypic and genotypic analyses.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Durham VA Medical Center, 508 Fulton St., Building 4, Durham, NC 27705. Phone: (919) 286-0411, ext. 6566. Fax: (919) 286-6824. E-mail: richard.frothingham{at}duke.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 1999, p. 1921-1926, Vol. 37, No. 6
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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