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PMID: 10325347 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Mycobacterium africanum isolates from West Africa.

Journal of clinical microbiology ·Vol. 37 ·No. 6 ·1999-06-00 ·Pages 1921-6

Frothingham R, Strickland PL, Bretzel G, Ramaswamy S, Musser JM, Williams DL

Abstract

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex includes M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. africanum, and M. microti. Most clinical isolates are M. tuberculosis or M. bovis. These species can be distinguished by phenotypes and genotypes. However, there is no simple definition of M. africanum, and some authors question the validity of this species. We analyzed 17 human isolates from Sierra Leone, identified as M. africanum by biochemical and growth characteristics. We sequenced polymorphic genes and intergenic regions. We amplified DNA from six loci with variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTRs) and determined the exact number of repeats at each locus in each strain. All M. africanum isolates had the ancestral CTG Leu at katG codon 463. Drug-resistant M. africanum isolates had katG and rpoB mutations similar to those found in drug-resistant M. bovis and M. tuberculosis. Fourteen Sierra Leone M. africanum isolates (designated group A) had katG codon 203 ACC Thr, also found in M. africanumT (the T indicates type strain) from Senegal. Group A isolates clustered with M. africanumT by VNTR analysis. Three M. africanum isolates (group B) had katG codon 203 ACT Thr, found in M. tuberculosisT, and clustered with M. tuberculosisT by VNTR analysis. Phenotypic identification of M. africanum yielded a heterogeneous collection of strains. Genotypic analyses identified a cluster (M. africanum group A) which included M. africanumT and was distinct from the rest of the M. tuberculosis complex. Future studies of M. africanum should include both phenotypic and genotypic analyses.

MeSH Terms
Codon/genetics DNA, Bacterial/genetics Genotype Humans Introns Minisatellite Repeats Mycobacterium/classification,genetics,isolation & purification Mycobacterium bovis/classification,genetics Mycobacterium tuberculosis/classification,genetics Phenotype Polymerase Chain Reaction Polymorphism, Genetic Sierra Leone
Chemicals
Codon DNA, Bacterial
Authors & Affiliations
6 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Frothingham R
Infectious Disease Section, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27705, USA. richard.frothingham@duke.edu
Strickland P L
Bretzel G
Ramaswamy S
Musser J M
Williams D L
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of clinical microbiology
Abbr.
J Clin Microbiol
ISSN
0095-1137
DOI
10.1128/JCM.37.6.1921-1926.1999
Email
richard.frothingham@duke.edu
Published
1999-06-00
Pages
1921-6
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7505564
PMCID
PMC84985
Subset
IM
Grants
NIAID NIH HHS · AI35230 · United States
NIAID NIH HHS · AI37004 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/JCM.37.6.1921-1926.1999 PMC Full Text View journal details
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