Abstract: Objective To establish a rapid approach for detection and identification of mycobac-terium from cutaneous infectious granuloma.Methods Tissue specimens were obtained from granulomatous lesions of 9 patients with suspected mycobacterial infection.DNA was extracted and PCR was performed to amplify the 65 kD heat shock protein(hsp65)gene of mycobacterium.PCR products were assessed by restriction fragment length polymorphism(RFLP)with endonucleases BsteⅡand HaeⅢ.Results M.marinum was detected from 5 cases of swimming pool granuloma,M.tuberculosis in 2 cases,and M.abscessus in 2 cases of cutaneous infectious granuloma.All the results were confirmed by mycobacterial culture.Conclusion PCR-RFLP is a rapid method for the identification of mycobacterium in cutaneous infectious granuloma.

Key words: restriction fragment length, Mycobacterium infections, Mycobacterium, Polymorphism