Abstract
In Norway a variant of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis occurs which causes disease in goats but very seldom in sheep and cattle. Cultural and biochemical characteristics of this variant are investigated by comparing different pre-treatment methods and culture media for primary isolation and by subjecting a number of strains to different enzymatic and biochemical tests. Decontamination of materials with 5% oxalic acid and 0.1% benzalkonium chloride and culture on Dubos, Finleyson’s and Herrold’s medium was tested. The investigations showed that the combination oxalic acid decontamination/Dubos’ medium is most suitable for isolation of the goat-pathogenic variant.
The morphology of the colonies was also most easily studied after culture on Dubos’ medium from material pre-treated with oxalic acid. The biochemical tests were found to be poorly suitable for the identification of M. paratuberculosis and for its differentiation from other mycobacteria.
Mycobactin dependence for growth seems not to be absolute as a few goat strains produced growth on Dubos’ medium without mycobactin. However, growth was in all cases far better in the presence of mycobactin.
Sammendrag
I Norge forekommer en variant av Mycobacterium paratuberculosis som gir sjukdom hos geiter, men bare i unntakstilfeller hos sau og storfe. Kulturelle og biokjemiske egenskaper hos denne variant er undersøkt ved å sammenligne ulike forbehandlingsmetoder av materialet og kulturmedier for primær isolering samt ved å utføre en rekke biokjemiske og enzymatiske reaksjoner på de isolerte stammer. Materialet ble dekontaminert med 5% oksal-syre og 0.1% benzalkoniumklorid og utsed foretatt på Dubos’, Finleyson’s og Herrold’s medium. Undersøkelsene viste at kombinasjonen oksal-syre dekontaminering/ Dubos’ medium gir de beste resultater ved isolering av den geitepatogene variant av M. paratuberculosis.
Koloni-morfologien lot seg også lettest studere på Dubos’ medium inokulert med materiale som var forbehandlet med oksal-syre. Biokjemiske test-reaksjoner ble ikke funnet anvendelig ved typing av M. paratuberculosis.
Noen få geite-patogene stammer ga vekst på Dubos’ medium uten tilsetting av mykobaktin. Veksten av disse stammer var imidlertid langt bedre på Dubos’ medium med mykobaktin.
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Gunnarsson, E., Fodstad, F.H. Cultural and Biochemical Characteristics of Mycobacterium Paratuberculosis Isolated from Goats in Norway. Acta Vet Scand 20, 122–134 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03546635
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03546635