Thin-layer chromatography of lipid antigens as a means of identifying nontuberculous mycobacteria.

The previously described thin-layer chromatography procedure (Brennan et al., J. Clin. Microbiol. 8:374-379, 1978) for identifying serovars of the Mycobacterium avium-M. intracellulare-M. scrofulaceum complex, based on their specific C-mycoside glycopeptidolipid antigens, has now been extended to all 31 known serovars. Photographs of the characteristic pattern of the glycopeptidolipids are presented. Although the procedure is fraught with the difficulties inherent to comparative thin-layer chromatography, it is particularly suitable for the screening of isolates which are not amenable to seroagglutination, such as those which autoagglutinate or for which antisera are not presently available. In this way it was possible to tell whether isolates were of the M. avium-M. intracellulare-M. scrofulaceum complex and whether or not they had previously been recognized. Knowledge of the chemical features of the typing antigens nontuberculous mycobacteria other than M. avium-M. intracellulare-M. scrofulaceum strains also enables us to develop thin-layer chromatography systems for the identification of M. kansasii, M. szulgai, members of the M. gordonae complex, M. terrae, M. xenopi, and M. gastri.