The polymerase chain reaction for the identification of different species of Mycobacterium.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to identify reference and field strains of mycobacteria. PCR was able to identify all the reference strains of the Mycobacterium genus and sub-divide them into no Tuberculosis-no Avium complex, Tuberculosis complex and, partially, Avium complex. The primers used for the last recognised only some strains of the different types of M. avium and M. intracellulare. A number of field strains were identified as belonging to the Mycobacterium genus, but further research is required for a complete sub-division into Tuberculosis complex and Avium complex.