Mycobacterium kumamotonense, another Member of the Mycobacterium terrae Complex Unusually Carrying Two Copies of the Ribosomal RNA Operon

Abstract

The novel slow-grower Mycobacterium kumamotonense was previously misidentified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex using commercial probes. Similarly to other slow-growers that cross-react with the tubercle bacilli using commercial probes, M. kumamotonense is carrying two copies of the ribosomal RNA operon (rrn) per genome. Analysis of the corresponding rrn regions allowed the identification of sequences putatively involved in that cross-reactivity.