DNA hybridization analysis of mycobacterial DNA using the 18-kDa protein gene of Mycobacterium leprae |
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| Authors: | KD Moudgil DL Williams TP Gillis |
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| Institution: | Immunology Research Department, GWL Hansen's Disease Center, Carville, Louisiana, U.S.A.;Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India |
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| Abstract: | Abstract DNA hybridization studies using a 611-base pair (bp) probe, encoding the entire 18-kDa protein of Mycobacterium leprae , demonstrated that M. simiae, M. intracellulare, M. kansasii, M. terrae , ADM-2, M. avium, M. scrofulaceum, M. gordonae and M. chelonei appear to posses DNA sequences homologous to the 18-kDa protein gene of M. leprae . RFLP analysis revealed that the restriction sites in the M. leprae 18-kDa gene were not conserved in the putative gene homologs of M. simiae and M. intracellulare . The restriction patterns observed with the 611-bp probe were useful in differentiating M. intracellulare, M. simiae , and M. leprae from each other, as well as in distinguishing strains of M. simiae serovar 1. Finally, the presence of homologous sequences in various mycobacteria did not affect the specificity of a previously described PCR test for detection of M. leprae , based on the M. leprae 18-kDa protein gene. |
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| Keywords: | 18-kDa Protein Mycobacterium leprae Mycobacteria DNA hybridization RFLP PCR |
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