Deoxyribonucleic Acid Relatedness Among Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium lepraemurium, and Selected Bacteria by Dot Blot and Spectrophotometric Deoxyribonucleic Acid Hybridization Assays.

Abstract

Deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness between Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepraemurium and other selected bacteria was studied by both dot blot and spectrophotometric deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization assays. The results obtained by the two methods were similar, except for the relatedness values between M. leprae and two corynebacterial strains. Among the mycobacterial species examined, acid-fast organisms isolated from armadillos and a mangabey monkey with leprosy-like disease showed 100% relatedness with M. leprae grown experimentally in armadillos, suggesting their common origin. In this study we demonstrate the usefulness of the dot blot hybridization technique as a screening method for mycobacterial taxonomy.