RAPID DISCRIMINATION OF MYCOBACTERIUM-AVIUM STRAINS FROM AIDS PATIENTS BY RANDOMLY AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA ANALYSIS

A randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was performed for the molecular typing of Mycobacterium avium strains. This method was applied to epidemiologically unrelated M. avium strains isolated from the blood of 10 different AIDS patients and to strains that were consi dered epidemiologically related, as they had been isolated from the sa me patient but from different body locations (4 patients, 10 strains). Three oligonucleotide primers among the six tested were found to gene rate RAPD profiles with DNA from all M. avium strains and to successfu lly type them. This method for the typing of M. avium strains is rapid and easy to perform.