Resistance to Rifampin and Lysozyme of Strains of Some Species of Mycobacterium and Nocardia as a Taxonomic Tool

Abstract

Examination of 682 strains representing 4 species of mycobacteria (M. phlei, M. smegmatis, M. fortuitum and M. marinum) and 7 species of nocardiae (N. asteroides, N. caviae, N. brasiliensis, N. autotrophica, N. dassonvillei, N. madurae and N. pelletieri) indicated that, with the exception of N. madurae and N. pelletieri, resistance to rifampin (20 .mu.g/ml) is a useful property for describing these species. Resistance to lysozyme (300-500 U/ml) is taxonomically useful for delineating all 11 species.