title: Polymerase chain reaction for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
abstract: A polymerase chain reaction for the specific detection of mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex was developed. Using a single primer pair derived from the nucleotide sequence of protein antigen b of M. tuberculosis, we achieved specific amplification of a 419-base-pair DNA fragment in M. tuberculosis and M. bovis. After DNA was extracted from mycobacteria by using a simple, safe lysis procedure, we detected the 419-base-pair sequence in samples containing few mycobacteria. Preliminary data suggested that this technique could be applied to clinical specimens for early and specific diagnosis of tuberculosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sjöbring
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mecklenburg
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miörner
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial