title: Molecular characterization of clinical isolates of Moraxella catarrhalis by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting.
abstract: Moraxella catarrhalis, a less virulent microorganism that colonizes the upper respiratory tract, has recently been associated with lower respiratory disease, especially in HIV-positive immunocompromised individuals and children. Here, we correlated the DNA clustering pattern of 24 clinical isolates of M. catarrhalis for β-lactamase production and drug resistance, from different disease groups using three different arbitrarily selected primers, P1 (5'-TCACGATGCA-3'), P14 (5'-GATCAAGTCC-3') and P17 (5'-GATCTGACAC-3'). M. catarrhalis revealed three distinct banding patterns with primer P1, four with P14 and P17. 71% (n = 17) of the isolates revealed pattern 2 with primer P1, which discriminated majority (12/21) of the isolates grouped under the major branch of the dendrogram. The minor branch had only three isolates. Separation of M. catarrhalis into two subpopulations (major and minor clusters) with primer P1 is suggestive of diverse genetic lineage. A high level of concordance between RAPD and antibiotic profile was observed. Clustering of M. catarrhalis recovered from different disease groups reflect the identical clinical background or the common geographical/temporal factors. The presence or absence of β-lactamase in a cluster confirmed their single source of origin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dr. ALM PG Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Madras, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Christol James
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Theoga Raj
authors.forename: Esaki Muthu
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.forename: Hussin A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Rothan
authors.forename: Usha Anand
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D058889:Molecular Typing / Q000379:methods*; D001936:Moraxella catarrhalis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D045828:Moraxellaceae Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique / Q000379:methods*; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D001618:beta-Lactamases