Mycobacterium branderi from both a hand infection and a case of pulmonary disease

Mycobacterium branderi, a potential human pathogen first characterized in 1 995, has been isolated from respiratory tract specimens. We report here a c ase in which il I. branderi was the only organism isolated upon culture fro m a hand infection. This isolate, along with a second isolate from a bronch ial specimen, was subjected to conventional identification tests for mycoba cterial species. Further analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of mycolic acids and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed, and th e antibiotic susceptibility profile was determined for both strains. Bioche mical tests and the HPLC pattern were consistent with that of nr. branderi and M. celatum, which are very similar. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of both strains corresponded to that of M. branderi and enabled us to confidently d ifferentiate this organism from other closely related species such as M.; c elatum, This contributes to a further understanding of the status of this s pecies as a potential human pathogen as well as illustrating the need for m olecular diagnostics as a complementary method for the identification of ra re mycobacterial species.