[Differentiation and identification of mycobacteria by means of thin-layer chromatography of their lipids. II. Application for the classification of slowly growing mycobacteria: M. avium and M. intracellulare (author's transl)].

Experiences with the thin-layer chromatography of mycobacterial lipids for the differentiation of the species M. avium and M. intracellulare are described. Details of the procedure used have been published in a recent paper. The 61 strains investigated belong to 16 different serotypes. Twenty of the 21 strains of M. avium present three distinct lipid patterns corresponding to the serotypes 1, 2 and 3. One strain had an aberrant lipid pattern suggesting that serotyping was at fault. The results obtained with 40 M. intracellulare strains of the serotypes III, IV, VI, VII, Davis, Watson, Howell, Chance, Boone, Yandle, Wilson, Altman and Arnold show that a differentiation by thin-layer chromatography of their lipids--using two different developing solvents--is possible. In allbut one case there was a complete correspondence between classification by lipid analysis and the results of serological typing. The distinction between M. avium and M intracellulare on the basis of species specific lipid patterns is not possible. This supports the conclusion that M. avium and M. intracellulare appear to be the same species having a number of distinctive serotypes.