Identification and Evolution of an IS6110 Low-Copy-Number Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cluster

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 185; no. 5; pp. 641 - 649
• Main Authors: Mathema, Barun, Bifani, Pablo J., Driscoll, Jeffrey, Steinlein, Lauren, Kurepina, Natalia, Moghazeh, Soraya L., Shashkina, Elena, Marras, Salvatore A., Campbell, Shannon, Mangura, Bonita, Shilkret, Kenneth, Crawford, Jack T., Frothingham, Richard, Kreiswirth, Barry N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01-03-2002; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Bacterial diseases; Bacteriological methods and techniques used in bacteriology; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Demography; Disease transmission; DNA Transposable Elements - genetics; Epidemiology; Evolution; Evolution, Molecular; Evolutionary genetics; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Dosage; Genotypes; Geographic regions; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Major Articles; Male; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Middle Aged; Minisatellite repeats; Minisatellite Repeats - genetics; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - classification; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - genetics; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - epidemiology; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary - microbiology; United States; North America; New Jersey; America; Human; Copy number; Transmission; Mycobacterial infection; IS element; Infection; Tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Mycobacteriales; Bacteriosis; Mycobacteriaceae; Molecular epidemiology; Bacteria; Isolate; Actinomycetes; Disseminated
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/339345

A cohort of 56 patients infected with related strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the S75 group, was identified in a New Jersey population-based study of all isolates with a low number of copies of the insertion element IS6110. Genotyping was combined with surveillance data to identify the S75 group and to elucidate its recent evolution. The S75 group had similar demographic and geographic characteristics. Seventeen persons (30%) were linked epidemiologically. The S75 group was segregated from other low-copy-number isolates on the basis of several independent molecular methods. This group included 3 IS6110 genotype variants: BE, H6, and C28, containing 1, 2, and 3 IS6110 insertions, respectively. IS6110 insertion site mapping and comparative sequence analysis strongly suggest a stepwise acquisition of IS6110 elements from BE to H6 to C28. S75 represents a locally produced strain cluster that has recently evolved. The combination of multiple molecular tools with traditional epidemiology provides novel insights into dissemination, local transmission, and evolution of M. tuberculosis.