title: Molecular characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in a region of Brazil with a high incidence of tuberculosis.
abstract: One hundred and seventy Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates were characterized by spoligotyping to evaluate the biodiversity of tubercle bacilli in a region of Brazil with a high incidence of tuberculosis (Pelotas and Rio Grande cities - Rio Grande do Sul State). The spoligotyping results were compared to the World Spoligotyping Database (Institut Pasteur de Guadeloupe), which contains data from >14,000 worldwide isolates of M. tuberculosis. The isolates clustered by spoligotyping were further characterized by IS6110-RFLP to confirm the clonal relationship. Sixty-six different spoligotypes were identified, grouping 125 of the isolates (74%). Approximately half of the isolates belonged to seven of the most frequently occurring spoligotypes in the database. Three shared types (with two or more isolates) not previously identified were given the type numbers 826, 827 and 863. An additional 45 spoligotypes were identified that did not match any existing database pattern. RFLP characterization reduced the number of isolates in most of the clusters, thereby showing a higher differentiation capacity than spoligotyping. These results highlight the importance of molecular epidemiology studies of tuberculosis in insufficiently studied regions with a high TB burden, in order to uncover the true extent of genetic diversity of the pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Pelotas, Campus Universitário, Caixa Postal 354, CEP 96010-900 Pelotas, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sibele
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borsuk
authors.forename: Marina Mirian
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Dellagostin
authors.forename: Suselaine de Góes
authors.initials: Sde G
authors.lastname: Madeira
authors.forename: Crislaine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boffo
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mattos
authors.forename: Pedro E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Almeida da Silva
authors.forename: Odir Antônio
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Dellagostin
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial