title: Disequilibria in the distribution of rpoB alleles in rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates from Germany and Sierra Leone.
abstract: The effectiveness of culture-independent resistance predictions by molecular techniques is dependent on the number and the frequency of accessible resistance-associated genomic mutations. We have characterized an rpoB gene region involved in rifampicin resistance in 49 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates resistant to rifampicin from Germany and Sierra Leone. The determined frequencies of mutations differed between both countries of origins as well as with respect to previously reported distributions of resistance mutations. It is concluded that at least for some isolates the acquisition of mutations leading to rifampicin resistance in clinical samples of M. tuberculosis is a non-random process which may lead to a geographical and temporal dependence of the sensitivities of molecular typing techniques for rifampicin resistance predictions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rinder
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dobner
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feldmann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rifai
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bretzel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rüsch-Gerdes
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Löscher
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012293:Rifampin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; C101305:RpoB protein, Oryza sativa; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; D012293:Rifampin