[Detection of mycobacteria by DNA amplification]

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was used to detect and to identify Mycobacterium species. In this study, 13 out of 14 Mycobacterium species were detected by using six pairs of oligonucleotide primers. The PCR product was detected by non-isotopic southern blot hybridization even when as little as 10 fg of purified M. tuberculosis DNA was used. And 8 mycobacterial species were identified by PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) using two kinds of endonuclease.