Environmental Mycobacteria from Alpine and Subalpine Habitats
FEMS Microbiology Ecology 49 (2004) 343–347 www.fems-microbiology.org Environmental mycobacteria from alpine and subalpine habitats Marie-Francoise Thorel a, Joseph O. Falkinham, III b,*, R.G. Moreau c a AFSSA-Alfort, BP 67, 22 rue Pierre Curie, 94703 Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France b Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0406, USA c Universite Paris XII, 94000 Creteil, France Received 29 January 2004; received in revised form 5 April 2004; accepted 9 April 2004 First published online 18 May 2004 Abstract Mycobacteria were isolated from a variety of materials such as soil, peat, humus, tufa, sphagnum, and wood, collected in alpine and subalpine habitats. Mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium kansasii, Mycobacterium malmoense, Mycobacterium szulgai, Mycobacterium gordonae, Mycobacterium terrae, Mycobacterium chelonae, and Mycobacterium fortuitum were recovered from 69 of 81 (85%) samples. All of the isolates were recovered on medium incubated at 20 and 30 °C. None were recovered if the medium was incubated at 37 °C. The isolation of mycobacteria confirms the presence of these opportunistic pathogens in alpine habitats. Ó 2004 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Environmental mycobacteria; Alpine habitats; Growth temperature 1. Introduction tion to environmental extremes. Mycobacteria have been shown to grow over a wide range of pH [12–14], A wide variety of different mycobacterial species have temperature [15,16], and organic matter concentration been recovered from soil, water, vegetables, and dust [1– [15]. Therefore, it would be expected that mycobacteria 4]. In addition to water, soil is a likely reservoir of these could be recovered from extreme environments.
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