ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the application of the multiple locus variable numbers of tandem repeats(MLVA) in genotype Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MTB) strains isolated from Uygur in south of Xinjiang, and to understand the characteristics of genotype and distribution. Methods One hundred and fifty-one Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were collected from Uygur in south of Xinjiang which contains three regions, Kashgar, Hotan and Kizilsu kirghiz. Twenty-four tandem repeats loci in the total genome of MTB were analyzed by PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis method. The characteristics on polymorphism of DNA fingerprinting of 151 MTB strains were analyzed with BioNumerics 5.0 software. Results Twenty-four MLVA loci of 151 MTB strains were analyzed respectively. The results showed that there were obvious polymorphisms of VNTRs. The clustering of genotype showed that these strains could be categorized into 8 gene groups( Ⅰ , Ⅱ , Ⅲ ,Ⅳ, Ⅴ ,Ⅵ,Ⅶ ,Ⅷ) and 151 genotypes. Sixty-seven isolates(44.4% ) belonged to group Ⅵ. 23.2% were group Ⅷ including 35 genotypes, 20. 5% were group Ⅳ including 31 genotypes. The group Ⅵ prevailed mostly in the Kashgar. The group Ⅲ prevailed mostly in the HOTAN. Conclusion The results showed there were obvious polymorphisms of VNTRs of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical strains preliminarily. Group Ⅵ was the predominant prevalent strain in south of Xinjiang.