Novel species including Mycobacterium fukienense sp. is found from tuberculosis patients in Fujian Province, China, using phylogenetic analysis of Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex.

Abstract Objective To identify the novel species ‘ Mycobacterium fukienense’ sp. nov of Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex from tuberculosis patients in Fujian Province, China. Methods Five of 27 clinical Mycobacterium isolates (Cls) were previously identified as M. chelonae/abscessus complex by sequencing the hsp65, rpoB, 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer region (its), recA and sodA house-keeping genes commonly used to describe the molecular characteristics of Mycobacterium . Clinical Mycobacterium isolates were classified according to the gene sequence using a clustering analysis program. Sequence similarity within clusters and diversity between clusters were analyzed. Results The 5 isolates were identified with distinct sequences exhibiting 99.8% homology in the hsp65 gene. However, a complete lack of homology was observed among the sequences of the rpoB, 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer region (its), sodA , and recA genes as compared with the M. abscessus . Furthermore, no match for rpoB, sodA , and recA genes was identified among the published sequences. Conclusion The novel species, Mycobacterium fukienense , is identified from tuberculosis patients in Fujian Province, China, which does not belong to any existing subspecies of M. chelonea/abscessus complex.