Novel Mycobacterium Species in Seahorses with Tail Rot

摘要

To the Editor: Seahorses (Hippocampus guttulatus and H. hippocampus) with signs of tail rot disease (lethargy, lack of appetite, white spots on the skin, and necrotic tail lesions) were collected from aquaria at the Institute of Marine Research, Spain, during March 2007 through May 2009 (online Appendix Figure, www.cdc.gov/EID/content/17/9/101289-appF.htm). Microscopic examination of cutaneous lesions after Ziehl-Neelsen staining disclosed acid-fast bacilli. Microbiologic analysis showed unidentifi ed Mycobacterium strains. Subsequently, we used PCR amplifi cation of repetitive bacterial DNA elements to group the strains (1). The results showed an identical PCR pattern for the strains; thus, we selected strain BFLP-6Tfor analysis. On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic data, we consider the unknown acid-fast bacillus to represent a novel species of the genus Mycobacterium, for which the name M. hippocampi sp. nov. is proposed