Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the causative agent of Johne's disease in cattle. The complex, multifaceted interaction of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis with its host includes dampening the ability of infected cells to respond to stimuli that promote M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis clearance. By disrupting host defenses, M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis creates an intracellul...

A method incorporating DNA amplification and reverse dot blot hybridization for the detection and identification of mycobacteria to the species level is described. The amplification procedure allowed for the incorporation of digoxigenin-labeled UTP, which was detected by chemiluminescence, removing the need for radioactivity. Using a set of primers and probes from the gene for the 65-kDa heat s...

One of the most important opportunistic pathogens associated with AIDS is the Mycobacterium avium complex. M. avium infections are found in up to 70% of individuals in advanced stages of AIDS. The deficiency in our knowledge of these mycobacteria presents an obstacle to the development of a rational approach for controlling these life-threatening infections in immunocompromised persons. It is a...

Antigens in a 4-week-old culture filtrate (CF) of Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium were separated in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and identified by Western blotting. The culture had minimal lysis of bacilli, giving a CF preparation consisting mainly of secreted proteins. Comparison with a similar CF of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with almost no contamination with int...

We conducted a quantitative structure-activity relationship study using a database of 158 quinolones previously tested against Mycobacterium avium-M. intracellulare complex in order to develop a model capable of predicting the activity of new quinolones against the M. avium-M. intracellulare complex in vitro. Topological indices were used as structural descriptors and were related to anti-M. av...

BACKGROUND Most environmental non-tuberculous mycobacteria have been demonstrated to invade amoebal trophozoites and cysts, but such relationships are largely unknown for members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. An environmental source has been proposed for the animal Mycobacterium bovis and the human Mycobacterium canettii. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Using optic and electron mi...

Forty human clinical Mycobacterium avium-M. intracellulare complex strains isolated in Greece were characterized to the species level by PCR with three sets of primers specific for one or both species. M. avium predominated in both human immunodeficiency virus-positive and -negative patients, but the frequency of M. intracellulare isolation appeared to be higher in the latter.

Lateral gene transfer is an integral part of genome evolution in most bacteria. Bacteria can readily change the contents of their genomes to increase adaptability to ever-changing surroundings and to generate evolutionary novelty. Here, we report instances of lateral gene transfer in Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, a pathogenic bacteria that causes Johne's disease in cattle. A set ...

Whole chromosomal DNA probes were used to identify clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, and Mycobacterium gordonae. The probe for M. tuberculosis was prepared from Mycobacterium bovis BCG, which has been shown to be closely related to M. tuberculosis. A probe for the M. avium complex was prepared from three strains representing each of the three DNA homo...

Differentiation between Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. avium is helpful for the treatment of disseminated mycobacterial infection in AIDS patients. This can traditionally be done by time-consuming biochemical tests or with Accuprobe. Previously, PCR restriction enzyme analysis (PCR-REA) of the 16S-23S rRNA gene spacer was shown to be able to identify a limited number of strains of Mycobacter...