Context-sensitive transposition of IS6110 in mycobacteria.
The rational use of IS6110 fingerprinting for studies of the molecular epidemiology and evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires understanding of the dynamics of transposition. In laboratory model systems, it has been shown that transposition is context-sensitive, i.e. it is influenced by the nature of the site in which the insertion sequence is presented. Stimulation of transposition by activation of an adjacent promoter supports the hypothesis that transposition occurs more readily from transcriptionally active locations. In addition, it has been shown that transposition can be enhanced by the expression of the transposase in trans. These findings imply that the frequency of transposition will vary substantially between different strains of M. tuberculosis, and furthermore that a hitherto stable strain may develop more rapid variation due to transposition into an active site. The use of IS6110 fingerprinting for the analysis of longer-range relationships between M. tuberculosis isolates therefore needs to be interpreted with care.
Wall
Sue
S
Molecular Microbiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, UK1.
Ghanekar
Kiran
K
Molecular Microbiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, UK1.
McFadden
Johnjoe
J
Molecular Microbiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, UK1.
Dale
Jeremy W
JW
Molecular Microbiology Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH, UK1.
D015139:Blotting, Southern; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000235:genetics*; D020102:Mycobacterium smegmatis / Q000235:genetics*
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements