Comparing the Utilities of Different Multilocus Sequence Typing Schemes for Identifying Outbreak Strains of Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. massiliense

Outbreaks of infections by , particularly subspecies , are increasingly reported worldwide. Several multilocus sequence typing (MLST) protocols for grouping international outbreak strains have been developed but not yet directly compared. Using the three-gene ( , , and ), seven-gene ( , , , , , , and ) and thirteen-gene (all of the preceding genes plus , , and ) MLST schemes, we identified 22, 38, and 40 unique sequence types (STs), respectively, among a total of 139 nonduplicated isolates. Among subspecies , three-gene MLST not only clustered all outbreak strains together (in 100% agreement with the seven-gene and thirteen-gene schemes), but it also distinguished between two new STs that would have been grouped together by the seven-gene MLST but were distinct by the thirteen-gene MLST owing to differences in , , and Here, we show that an abbreviated MLST may be useful for simultaneous identification of the subspecies level and screening subsp. isolates with outbreak potential.