Diversity of nontuberculous mycobacteria in drinking water in premise plumbing

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are Mycobacteria other than M. tuberculosis and M. leprae. NTM are prevalent in environments including water supply system. Some NTM can cause pulmonary and skin diseases. Although high health burden of waterborne NTM is concerned, less information is available on the diversity of NTM in drinking water. In this study, 16 water samples were collected from premise plumbing in a building and NTM communities were characterized using culture-independent approaches. Amplicon sequencing of hsp65 genes of NTM revealed that M. gordonae or M. pyrenivorans were dominant in the same samples. As M. mucogenicum, M. avium, and M. gordonae were opportunistic pathogens, NTM in drinking water in premise plumbing can have a potential public health significance. Thus, characterization of NTM in drinking water is indispensable for better understanding of NTM health risk.