title: Unmasking subtle differences in the infectivity of microevolved Mycobacterium tuberculosis variants coinfecting the same patient.
abstract: Clonal variants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can emerge as a result of microevolution phenomena. The functional significance of these subtle genetic rearrangements is normally disregarded. We show that clonal variants from two patients had different infective behaviours in some in vitro cellular infection models but not in others. Microevolution may have a subtle impact on infectivity, but specific experimental conditions are needed to unmask it.
authors.affiliation: Servicio Microbiología Clínica y Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET), Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain; CEI Campus Moncloa, UCM-UPM, Madrid, Spain; CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, CIBERES, Spain.
authors.forename: Yurena
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pérez-Lago
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sislema
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herranz
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Juan
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouza
authors.forename: Darío
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: García-de-Viedma
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D058889:Molecular Typing; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: Clonal variants; Infectivity; Mycobacterium tuberculosis