Mycobacterium botniense

Mycobacterium botniense is a slowly growing Mycobacterium, which produces a yellow pigment. It was first isolated from a stream of water. M. botniense is most closely related to Mycobacterium xenopi. Etymology: botniense; of Botnia, referring to the Latin name of the province of Finland from which the isolation was made.

Description
Microscopy
 * Gram-positive, nonmotile and acid-fast rods.

Colony characteristics
 * Colonies on Löwenstein-Jensen media and on Middlebrook 7H11 agar are small, dysgonic and scotochromogenic, and produce yellow pigment.

Physiology
 * Visible growth from diluted inocula requires 5 to 8 weeks. Growth occurs at 37 to 50 °C.
 * The type strain is positive for 10-d arylsulfatase and pyrazinamidase.
 * Negative for 3-d arylsulfatase, urease, nitrate reductase, semi-quantitative catalase, heat-stable catalase, acid phosphatase, b-galactosidase and 5% NaCl tolerance.
 * Tween 80 is not hydrolysed in 10 d.

Differential characteristics
 * A phylogenetic tree based on the evaluation of 16S rDNA sequences places M. botniense among the slow-growing mycobacteria, closest to M. xenopi.

Pathogenesis

 * Not known, but first isolated from an environmental source.

Type strain

 * First isolated in Finland from stream waters. Strain E347 = ATCC 700701 = CCUG 47976 = CIP 106753 = DSM 44537.