Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases (ICMR), Tajganj, Agra-282001.
The 16S rRNA is the most widely accepted gene used for identification. It has contributed greatly to the discovery of new species of Mycobacterium genus. In the present study 16S rRNA sequencing was used to characterize different non-tuberculous mycobacterial species. This technique was found to be useful in confirmation of identity of large number of isolates showing variable characters. Using this method M. manitobense was identified for the first time in India.
non-tuberculous mycobacteria, 16S rRNA
