The use of the firefly bioluminescent reaction for the rapid detection and counting of mycobacterium BCG.

A rapid test for the counting of Mycobacterium BCG, based on firefly luciferase assay of bacterial ATP has been evaluated. Three different methods for the extraction of ATP from mycobacterial cells were examined. Extraction with n-butanol proved to be the best method. The amount of ATP extracted correlated well with the number of colony forming units. It was found that the ATP content per colony forming particle of BCG varied only slightly after various periods of cultivation.