Numerical Analysis of Rapidly Growing, Nonphotochromogenic Mycobacteria, Including Mycobacterium agri (Tsukamura 1972) Tsukamura sp. nov., nom. rev.

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Abstract
Numerical analyses of 165 strains of rapidly growing, nonphotochromogenic mycobacteria were carried out with 104 characters in one case and 84 in another. The results showed that the following taxa are distinct: M. fortuitum; M. chelonei ssp. chelonei; M. chelonei ssp. abscessus; M. smegmatis; M. chitae; and "M. agri" (names in quotation marks are not on the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, 1980). The distinctness of "M. agri" was confirmed by using 29 test strains. Strains of M. smegmatis were divided into 2 subgroups, "M. smegmatis ssp. smegmatis" and "M. smegmatis ssp. lacticola" on the basis of amidase patterns. Clusters of M. fortuitum, M. chelonei ssp. chelonei and M. chelonei ssp. abscessus were distinguished at a level of 89% similarity by a numerical taxonomy method in which 84 characters were used, and these 3 clusters were connected to each other to form a large cluster at a level of 88%. These 3 taxa were regarded as belonging to a complex. Within the cluster M. fortuitum, 4 subclusters were observed, but about 1/2 of the M. fortuitum strains studied did not belong to any of the 4 subclusters. The 78 strains of M. fortuitum studied were regarded as homogeneous, even though several biovars could be differentiated. Neither subcluster nor biovar of the M. fortuitum strains was shown to be significantly associated with disease in humans. Because M. agri was not included on the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, it is herein proposed as a revived name. The type strain of M. agri is 90012 (= ATCC 27406).

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