title: Molecular typing of Iranian mycobacteria isolates by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 360-bp rpoB gene.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diagnosis and typing of Mycobacterium genus provides basic tools for investigating the epidemiology and pathogenesis of this group of bacteria. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PRA) is an accurate method providing diagnosis and typing of species of mycobacteria. The present study is conducted by the purpose of determining restriction fragment profiles of common types of mycobacteria by PRA method of rpoB gene in this geographical region.
  
  
  METHODS
  Totally 60 clinical and environmental isolates from February to October, 2013 were collected and subcultured and identified by phenotypic methods. A 360 bp fragment of the rpoB gene amplified by PCR and products were digested by MspI and HaeIII enzymes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the present study, of all mycobacteria isolates identified by PRA method, 13 isolates (21.66%) were Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 34 isolates (56.66%) were rapidly growing Nontuberculosis Mycobacteria (NTM) that including 26 clinical isolates (43.33%) and 8 environmental isolates (13.33%), 11 isolates (18.33%) were clinical slowly growing NTM. among the clinical NTM isolates, Mycobacterium fortuitum Type I with the frequency of 57.77% was the most prevalent type isolates. Furthermore, an unrecorded of the PRA pattern of Mycobacterium conceptionense (HeaIII: 120/90/80, MspI: 120/105/80) was found. This study demonstrated that the PRA method was high discriminatory power for identification and typing of mycobacteria species and was able to identify 96.6% of all isolates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the result of this study, rpoB gene could be a potentially useful tool for identification and investigation of molecular epidemiology of mycobacterial species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors.forename: Shima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hadifar
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors.forename: Sharareh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moghim
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fazeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors.forename: Hajieh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: GhasemianSafaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Asghar
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Havaei
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Isfahan Provincial Health Office, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors.forename: Fariba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Farid
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I. R. Iran.
authors.forename: Bahram Nasr
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Esfahani
keywords: Molecular typing; mycobacteria; polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis; rpoB gene