Abstract

Rapidly growing mycobacteria colonize metalworking fluids, leading to contamination of occupational environments and exposure-related respiratory illnesses in machine workers. Lately, it has been emphasized that these fluids are colonizable by a single genotype of a rapidly growing mycobacterium species, Mycobacterium immunogenum. Here, we report on the genotypic diversity of mycobacteria in these fluids, including isolation and characterization of multiple novel genotypes of two distinct species, Mycobacterium chelonae and M. immunogenum. Using agar culturing and Mycobacterium-specific PCR, 13 mycobacterial isolates were recovered from 100 geographically diverse in-use metalworking fluid samples. Based on restriction fragment length polymorphism of PCR products, DNA sequencing (hsp 65 gene segment), and phylogenetic analysis of 16S–23S rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, six isolates were identified as M. immunogenum and seven as M. chelonae; an additional isolate from metalworking fluid diluent water was identified as M. diernhoferi. Genomic DNA macro-restriction fragment pattern analysis, using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with Xba I and Spe I restriction digestions, showed intraspecies variation among the isolates of M. immunogenum and M. chelonae. Visual and computer-assisted dendrogram analysis of the Xba I macro-restriction patterns revealed three novel genotypes of M. immunogenum and two of M. chelonae, whereas Spe I macro-restriction patterns revealed only two genotypes for each isolate. None of the identified genotypes matched the reportedly dominant one of M. immunogenum from metalworking fluids. Both mycobacterial species are prevalent in metalworking fluids and there is a considerable strain-level genetic diversity within them

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