RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 van Ingen, J. A1 Boeree, M. J. A1 Kösters, K. A1 Wieland, A. A1 Tortoli, E. A1 Dekhuijzen, P. N. R. A1 van Soolingen, D.YR 2009 T1 Proposal to elevate Mycobacterium avium complex ITS sequevar MAC-Q to Mycobacterium vulneris sp. nov. JF International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, VO 59 IS 9 SP 2277 OP 2282 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.008854-0 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1466-5034, AB The Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) consists of four recognized species, Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium colombiense, Mycobacterium intracellulare and Mycobacterium chimaera, and a variety of other strains that may be members of undescribed taxa. We report on two isolates of a scotochromogenic, slowly growing, non-tuberculous Mycobacterium species within the M. avium complex from a lymph node and an infected wound after a dogbite of separate patients in The Netherlands. The extrapulmonary infections in immunocompetent patients suggested a high level of virulence. These isolates were characterized by a unique nucleotide sequence in the 16S rRNA gene, 99 % similar to Mycobacterium colombiense, and the MAC-Q 16S–23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence. Sequence analyses of the hsp65 gene revealed 97 % similarity to M. avium. The rpoB gene sequence was 98 % similar to M. colombiense. Phenotypically, the scotochromogenicity, positive semi-quantitative catalase and heat-stable catalase tests, negative tellurite reductase and urease tests and susceptibility to hydroxylamine and oleic acid set these isolates apart from related species. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of cell-wall mycolic acid content revealed a unique pattern, related to that of M. avium and M. colombiense. Together, these findings supported a separate species status within the Mycobacterium avium complex. We propose elevation of scotochromogenic M. avium complex strains sharing this 16S gene and MAC-Q ITS sequence to separate species status, for which the name Mycobacterium vulneris sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NLA000700772T (=DSM 45247T=CIP 109859T)., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsem/10.1099/ijs.0.008854-0