UTILITY OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF MYCOBACTERIAL SPECIES RARELY ENCOUNTERED IN CLINICAL LABORATORIES

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been demonstrated to be a suitable technique for determining the species of mycobacteria o n the basis of their mycolic acid pattern, Representative HPLC profile s, which are needed for the visual recognition of chromatograms, have been published for the most frequently encountered mycobacterial speci es. No extensive study has been reported for less common species, and only a few, scattered chromatographic patterns are available in litera ture, This study evaluates the utility of this technique for the ident ification of several rare species. Mycobacterium celatum, Mycobacteriu m genavense and Mycobacterium simiae chromatographic profiles have bee n verified, and previously unreported profiles of other species invest igated. The chromatographic pattern of Mycobacterium malmoense is pres ented for the first time.