Comparison of the (CCG) sub(4)-based PCR and MIRU-VNTR for molecular typing of Mycobacterium avium strains

• Published in: Molecular biology reports Vol. 39; no. 7; pp. 7681 - 7686
• Main Authors: Wojtasik, Arkadiusz, Kubiak, Anna B, Krzyanowska, Anna, Majchrzak, Marta, Augustynowicz-Kopec, Ewa, Parniewski, Pawe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-07-2012
• Subjects: Genotyping; Infection; Mycobacterium avium; Polymerase chain reaction
• ISSN: 0301-4851; 1573-4978
• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-012-1603-2

Mycobacterium avium, a member of the group of non-tuberculous mycobacteria, is most often responsible for the serious diseases in humans and is frequently isolated from NTM-caused pulmonary events. In this connection the epidemiological aspect is also of great importance. Here we present a useful genetic assay that uses (CCG) sub(4)-based PCR for genotyping M. avium. After applying this test to 33 strains of M. avium, we found a discriminatory index of 0.979. The accuracy of this analysis was supported by a reasonable reproducibility of 95.1%. These results were compared with the Mycobacterial Intergenic Repeat Unit-Variable Number Tandem Repeats (MIRU-VNTR) typing scheme which had slightly lower discriminatory index of 0.945 however, the method was able to cluster different strains compared to CCG-PCR. Taking into account high discriminatory index and reproducibility, this test scheme has the potential as a screening tool in the investigation of M. avium infections, especially if combined with MIRU-VNTR.