ABIS Encyclopedia

Legend: +,90% or more of strains are positive; − 90% or more of strains are negative; v variable/weak, * species included in M. avium

Mycobacterium timonense

Taxonomy

Morphology

Cultural characteristics

Biochemical characters

Ecology

Pathogenicity

References

Phylum Actinobacteria, Class Actinobacteria, Order Actinomycetales, Suborder Corynebacterineae, Family Mycobacteriaceae, Genus
Mycobacterium, Mycobacterium timonense Ben Salah et al. 2009.

Member of the the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC).

Acid-fast rods, 0.9 x 0.45 μm. Gram-positive.

Colonies are rough, non-pigmented and grow on 5% sheep blood agar, Middlebrook
7H10 agar and egg-based Lowenstein-Jensen medium after 10 days incubation at
30 ºC. Can grow at 45 ºC. No growth in media supplemented with 5% NaCl or on
MacConkey agar.

Isolated from sputum and synovial fluid.

May produce pulmonary and other opportunistic infections.

I. B. Salah, C. Cayrou, D. Raoult, and M. Drancourt, Mycobacterium marseillense sp. nov., Mycobacterium timonense sp. nov. and
Mycobacterium bouchedurhonense sp. nov.,members of the Mycobacterium avium complex. International Journal of Systematic
and Evolutionary Microbiology, vol. 59, no. 11, pp. 2803-2808, 2009.
J. Zurita, D. Ortega-Paredes, M. Mora, N.Espinel, H. Parra, L. Febrese, C. Zurita-Salinas. Characterization of the first report of
Mycobacterium timonense infecting an HIV patient in an Ecuadorian hospital. Clinical Microbiology and Infection Volume 20, Issue
12, December 2014, Pages O1113-O1116.

Positive results for acetoin production, iron uptake, pyrazinamidase, pyrolidonyl arylamidase, and tellurite reduction (weak reaction
may occur). Glucose utilization is weak.

Negative results for niacin accumulation, Tween 80 hydrolysis, and urea hydrolysis.
No utilization of citrate as sole carbon source.

Variable results for acid phosphatase and esterase C4.