Mutations in the embC-embA intergenic region contribute to Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to ethambutol.

ABSTRACT: The rapid increase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to ethambutol (EMB) threatens the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB). We investigated the role of mutations in the embC-embA intergenic region (IGR) in EMB-resistant clinical strains from east China. A total of 767 M. tuberculosis clinical strains were collected and analyzed for their drug susceptibility to EMB using the MGIT 960 system and MIC assay, and the embC-embA IGRs of these strains were sequenced. The transcriptional activity of the embC-embA IGR mutations was examined by reporter gene assays in recombinant Mycobacterium smegmatis strains, and the effect of IGR mutations on its binding to EmbR, a transcription regulator of embAB, was analyzed by gel mobility shift assays. Correlation coefficient analysis showed

SUBMITTER: Cui Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4249443 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature