Deoxyribonucleic Acid Relatedness Study of the Mycobacterium fortuitum-Mycobacterium chelonae Complex

Abstract

A deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness study of 13 Mycobacterium chelonae strains indicated that M. chelonae subsp. chelonae and M. chelonae subsp. abscessus are two different genomic species, both distinct from Mycobacterium fortuitum and “Mycobacterium peregrinum.” One strain of M. chelonae constitutes a third genomic species. The type strain of M. fortuitum and the reference strain of “M. peregrinum” (strain ATCC 14467) belong to two different genomic groups.