First Report of the Cooperative, Open-Ended Study of Slowly Growing Mycobacteria by the International Working Group on Mycobacterial Taxonomy

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Abstract
An open-ended study has been initiated by the International Working Group on Mycobacterial Taxonomy to accommodate strains of slow growers that do not belong to well-established or throughly characterized species. Numerical taxonomic analysis of the data derived from the first series of cultures examined in this study has permitted preparation of expanded descriptions of Mycobacterium simiae and M. szulgai, and, to a lesser extent, M. asiaticum. The analysis also provides some support for revival of the name “M. shimoidei,” which is presently without standing. Additional clusters have emerged which may represent new taxa; one of these includes a strain labeled “M. paraffinicum,” a name which is also now without standing.