Reverse dot blot assay (insertion site typing) for precise detection of sites of IS6110 insertion in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome

A colorimetric strategy based on dynamic chemistry for direct detection of Trypanosomatid species

Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease are endemic in many countries, and re-emerging in the developed countries. A rapid and accurate diagnosis is important for early treatment for reducing the duration of infection as well as for preventing further potential health complications. In this work, we have developed a novel colorimetric molecular assay that integrates nucleic acid analysis by dynamic chemistry (ChemNAT) with reverse dot-blot hybridization in an array format for a rapid and easy discrimination of Leishmania major and Trypanosoma cruzi. The assay consists of a singleplex PCR step that amplifies a highly homologous DNA sequence which encodes for the RNA component of the large ribosome subunit. The amplicons of the two different parasites differ between them by single nucleotide variations, known as “Single Nucleotide Fingerprint” (SNF) markers. The SNF markers can be easily identified by naked eye using a novel micro Spin-Tube device "Spin-Tube", as each of them creates a specific spot pattern. Moreover, the direct use of ribosomal RNA without requiring the PCR pre-amplification step is also feasible, further increasing the simplicity of the assay. The molecular assay delivers sensitivity capable of identifying up to 8.7 copies per µL with single mismatch specificity. The Spin-Tube thus represents an innovative solution providing benefits in terms of time, cost, and simplicity, all of which are crucial for the diagnosis of infectious disease in developing countries.

Epidemiologic consequences of microvariation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

BACKGROUND

Evidence from genotype-phenotype studies suggests that genetic diversity in pathogens have clinically relevant manifestations that can impact outcome of infection and epidemiologic success. We studied 5 closely related Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains that collectively caused extensive disease (n = 862), particularly among US-born tuberculosis patients.

METHODS

Representative isolates were selected using population-based genotyping data from New York City and New Jersey. Growth and cytokine/chemokine response were measured in infected human monocytes. Survival was determined in aerosol-infected guinea pigs.

RESULTS

Multiple genotyping methods and phylogenetically informative synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms showed that all strains were related by descent. In axenic culture, all strains grew similarly. However, infection of monocytes revealed 2 growth phenotypes, slower (doubling ∼55 hours) and faster (∼25 hours). The faster growing strains elicited more tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β than the slower growing strains, even after heat killing, and caused accelerated death of infected guinea pigs (∼9 weeks vs 24 weeks) associated with increased lung inflammation/pathology. Epidemiologically, the faster growing strains were associated with human immunodeficiency virus and more limited in spread, possibly related to their inherent ability to induce a strong protective innate immune response in immune competent hosts.

CONCLUSIONS

Natural variation, with detectable phenotypic changes, among closely related clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis may alter epidemiologic patterns in human populations.

Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis: current insights

Molecular epidemiologic studies of tuberculosis (TB) have focused largely on utilizing molecular techniques to address short- and long-term epidemiologic questions, such as in outbreak investigations and in assessing the global dissemination of strains, respectively. This is done primarily by examining the extent of genetic diversity of clinical strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. When molecular methods are used in conjunction with classical epidemiology, their utility for TB control has been realized. For instance, molecular epidemiologic studies have added much-needed accuracy and precision in describing transmission dynamics, and they have facilitated investigation of previously unresolved issues, such as estimates of recent-versus-reactive disease and the extent of exogenous reinfection. In addition, there is mounting evidence to suggest that specific strains of M. tuberculosis belonging to discrete phylogenetic clusters (lineages) may differ in virulence, pathogenesis, and epidemiologic characteristics, all of which may significantly impact TB control and vaccine development strategies. Here, we review the current methods, concepts, and applications of molecular approaches used to better understand the epidemiology of TB.

A genomic library-based amplification approach (GL-PCR) for the mapping of multiple IS6110 insertion sites and strain differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Evidence suggests that insertion of the IS6110 element is not without consequence to the biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains. Thus, mapping of multiple IS6110 insertion sites in the genome of biomedically relevant clinical isolates would result in a better understanding of the role of this mobile element, particularly with regard to transmission, adaptability and virulence. In the present paper, we describe a versatile strategy, referred to as GL-PCR, that amplifies IS6110-flanking sequences based on the construction of a genomic library. M. tuberculosis chromosomal DNA is fully digested with HincII and then ligated into a plasmid vector between T7 and T3 promoter sequences. The ligation reaction product is transformed into Escherichia coli and selective PCR amplification targeting both 5' and 3' IS6110-flanking sequences are performed on the plasmid library DNA. For this purpose, four separate PCR reactions are performed, each combining an outward primer specific for one IS6110 end with either T7 or T3 primer. Determination of the nucleotide sequence of the PCR products generated from a single ligation reaction allowed mapping of 21 out of the 24 IS6110 copies of two 12 banded M. tuberculosis strains, yielding an overall sensitivity of 87,5%. Furthermore, by simply comparing the migration pattern of GL-PCR-generated products, the strategy proved to be as valuable as IS6110 RFLP for molecular typing of M. tuberculosis complex strains. Importantly, GL-PCR was able to discriminate between strains differing by a single IS6110 band.

Fast ligation-mediated PCR, a fast and reliable method for IS6110-based typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis is the most widely applied method for strain differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. We have previously described mixed-linker PCR, an IS6110-based PCR method that favorably compared with other typing methods for M. tuberculosis complex according to reproducibility and ability to differentiate between strains. Here we report the further development of this method, called fast ligation-mediated PCR (FLiP), which allows analysis of strains within one working day and starting from less than 1 ng of mycobacterial DNA or a crude cell lysate. Blinded analysis of a standard set of 131 M. tuberculosis complex and nontuberculous isolates showed the ability to differentiate 81 types among 90 M. tuberculosis complex isolates with 84 different IS6110 RFLP fingerprint patterns and detected 97% of the 31 duplicate samples. We suggest that FLiP can serve to rapidly detect chains of transmission prior to starting high-throughput analysis or standard IS6110 RFLP. It may as well serve as a secondary typing technique for other, non-IS6110-based methods.

Locating transposable element polymorphisms in bacterial genomes

Although whole-genome sequencing is greatly extending our knowledge of the genetic capacity of those bacterial species, it is only directly informative for the particular strain sequenced. Many bacterial species exhibit more or less genetic polymorphism within their populations and characterising this variety is an extremely important way of elucidating the biology of these species. Often genomic polymorphisms are associated with multicopy elements, particularly transposable elements. We describe a novel method that efficiently characterises the sequences of such polymorphisms. We have optimised heminested inverse PCR (hINVPCR) to assess the diversity of insertional polymorphisms of a transposable element (IS6110) in clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. To increase the yield of information, genomic DNA was digested with different endonucleases (Bsp1286I, HaeII or PvuI), and primers based on both the 5' and 3' ends of IS6110 were used to amplify and determine the genomic sequence upstream (or downstream) of the transposable element. We found that both the choice of restriction enzyme and the use of primers at both ends of the transposable element significantly increased the diversity of the insertion sites identified. Band stabbing was incorporated into the method as an alternative to cloning in order to screen large number of isolates at a sequence level in a rapid and labour-efficient fashion. We describe some of the purposes to which such data can be put.

Efficient characterization of retro-, lenti-, and foamyvector-transduced cell populations by high-accuracy insertion site sequencing

The identification of unknown genomic flanking DNA sequences can be used for the molecular monitoring of retro-, lenti- and foamyviral integration, transgenes in early embryogenesis, insertional mutagenesis, cell fate, and stem cell plasticity. Most existing methods reflect shortcomings in sensitivity and or specificity, thus limiting genomic sequencing of unknown flanking DNA to clonal preparations. The application of linear amplification-mediated PCR (LAM-PCR), a recently developed direct sequencing technique for flanking DNA, should circumvent current limitations in different research fields. This technique combines preamplification of target DNA with a unique succession of enzymatic reactions on solid-phase. Using LAM-PCR, we show the previously unfeasible in vivo retro-, lenti- and foamyvirus integration site analysis in primate peripheral blood hematopoietic cells and human xenograft hematopoiesis. In light of two severe adverse events that occurred in a clinical SCID-X1 gene therapy trial, in vivo monitoring of the reinfused transduced cell pool by integration site analysis will be an important component of each gene transfer and therapy study aimed at clinical use.

Genotype analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from a sentinel surveillance population

As part of the National Tuberculosis and Genotyping Surveillance Network, isolates obtained from all new cases of tuberculosis occurring in seven geographically separate surveillance sites from 1996 through 2000 were genotyped. A total of 10883 isolates were fingerprinted by the IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism method, yielding 6128 distinct patterns. Low-copy isolates (those with six or fewer bands) were also spoligotyped. The distribution of specific genotype clusters was examined. Databases were also examined for families of related genotypes. Analysis of IS6110 patterns showed 497 patterns related to the W-Beijing family; these patterns represent 946 (9%) of all isolates in the study. Six new sets of related fingerprint patterns were also proposed for isolates containing 6-15 copies of IS6110. These fingerprint sets contain up to 251 patterns and 414 isolates; together, they contain 21% of isolates in this copy number range. These sets of fingerprints may represent endemic strains distributed across the United States.

Determining the genomic locations of repetitive DNA sequences with a whole-genome microarray: IS6110 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The mycobacterial insertion sequence IS6110 has been exploited extensively as a clonal marker in molecular epidemiologic studies of tuberculosis. In addition, it has been hypothesized that this element is an important driving force behind genotypic variability that may have phenotypic consequences. We present here a novel, DNA microarray-based methodology, designated SiteMapping, that simultaneously maps the locations and orientations of multiple copies of IS6110 within the genome. To investigate the sensitivity, accuracy, and limitations of the technique, it was applied to eight Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains for which complete or partial IS6110 insertion site information had been determined previously. SiteMapping correctly located 64% (38 of 59) of the IS6110 copies predicted by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The technique is highly specific; 97% of the predicted insertion sites were true insertions. Eight previously unknown insertions were identified and confirmed by PCR or sequencing. The performance could be improved by modifications in the experimental protocol and in the approach to data analysis. SiteMapping has general applicability and demonstrates an expansion in the applications of microarrays that complements conventional approaches in the study of genome architecture.