Twenty Five Years of Mycobacterial Taxonomy (1954-1979) in Celebration of the 25th Anniversay of the Runyon Groups

摘要

A comprehensive look at the past, present, and future of mycobacterial taxonomy is presented in this 225-page volume. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Timpe and Runyon paper (J. Lab. Clin. Med. 44, 202, 1954) which heralded the era of 'atypical' mycobacteria, the Sixth Conference of Systematics of the Genus Mycobacterium, held in Atlanta, Georgia, September 11-14, 1979, enlisted the help of a panel of world experts to review a quarter century of mycobacteriology. Included in the volume are a historical exploration of the first recognition and crude categorization of the nontuberculous mycobacteria; the impact of these organisms on disease in humans and lower animals; a review of the use of the tuberculin skin test during this 25-year period; the evolution of mycobacterial taxonomy using such tools as numerical taxonomy, immunologic methods, phage typing, lipid analysis, and animal pathology; the definition of Mycobacterium and closely allied taxa; the adaptation of numerical taxonomy to the diagnostic laboratory; and genetic relatedness of mycobacterial species. Several free communications deal with use of new tools for classification of mycobacteria, studies on M. lepraemurium and M. intracellulare, and the epidemiology of mycobacterial disease in swine.