Distribution of insertion- and deletion-associated genetic polymorphisms among four Mycobacterium tuberculosis phospholipase C genes and associations with extrathoracic tuberculosis: a population-based study.

ABSTRACT: The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome contains four phospholipase C (PLC)-encoding genes, designated plcA, plcB, plcC, and plcD, respectively. Each of the four genes contributes to the overall PLC activity of M. tuberculosis. PLC is hypothesized to contribute to M. tuberculosis virulence. Infection of M. tuberculosis strains carrying a truncated plcD gene is associated with the occurrence of extrathoracic tuberculosis. However, whether the other three plc genes are also associated with extrathoracic tuberculosis remains to be assessed. We investigated the insertion- and deletion-associated genetic diversity in all four plc genes among 682 epidemiologically and clinically well-characterized M. tuberculosis clinical isolates using PCR, DNA sequencing, and Southern hybridization. Two hundred

SUBMITTER: Kong Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1317199 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature