CLONING OF THE ANTIGEN 85A FROM MYCOBACTERIUM-GORDONAE AND ITS USE FOR THE SPECIFIC PCR IDENTIFICATION OF THESE MYCOBACTERIA

The complete nucleotide sequence of 85A antigen of Mycobacterium gordo nae was determined. This gene encodes 339 amino acids, including 43 am ino acids for the signal peptide, followed by a mature protein of 296 amino acids. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the rapid det ection of M. gordonae DNA using two pairs of oligonucleotide primers, derived from our sequence, is described. This one-step PCR has been us ed successfully to amplify 38 strains of M. gordonae. Conversely, the primers did not amplify DNA from any of the 25 mycobacterial species t ested. The results suggest that this PCR assay could be a good alterna tive to existing commercial assays for the specific identification of M. gordonae on early culture on solid medium or on early BACTEC broth culture. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.