Molecular identification of rapidly growing mycobacteria isolates from pulmonary specimens of patients in the State of Pará, Amazon region, Brazil

We isolated 44 strains of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) from 19 patients with pulmonary infections assisted at the Instituto Evandro Chagas (Pará, Brazil) from 2004 to 2007. Identification at the species level was performed by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PRA) of a 441 bp hsp65 fragment and partial 16S rRNA, hsp65, and rpoB gene sequencing. Genotyping by PRA yielded 3 digestion patterns: one identical to Mycobacterium abscessus type I (group I); another to M. abscessus type II, Mycobacterium bolletii, and Mycobacterium massiliense (group II); and a third typical for Mycobacterium fortuitum type I (group III). When comparing analysis of the 3 genes, more discrimination was obtained by rpoB gene sequence, which allowed good distinction between group I, II, and III strains and subclassification of group II strains in SG IIa (M. bolletii) and SG IIb (M. massiliense). In this study, we show that the description of new RGM species requires the establishment of standardized procedures for RGM identification and the alert of the clinician about their involvement in pulmonary disease and the necessity of treatment for control and cure.