Rapid screening of rpoB and katG mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates by high-resolution melting curve analysis.

Background: Early detection of multidrug‑resistant tuberculosis (MDR‑TB) is essential to prevent its transmission in the community and initiate effective anti‑TB treatment regimen. Materials and Methods: High‑resolution melting curve (HRM) analysis was evaluated for rapid detection of resistance conferring mutations in rpoB and katG genes. We screened 95 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates including 20 rifampin resistant (RIF‑R), 21 isoniazid resistant (INH‑R) and 54 fully susceptible (S) isolates determined by proportion method of drug susceptibility testing. Nineteen M. tuberculosis isolates with known drug susceptibility genotypes were used as references for the assay validation. The nucleotide sequences of the target regions rpoB and katG genes were determined to investigate the frequency and type of mutations and to confirm HRM results. Results: HRM analysis of a 129‑bp fragment of rpoB allowed correct identification of 19 of the 20 phenotypically RIF‑R and all RIF‑S isolates. All INH‑S isolates generated wild‑type HRM curves and 18 out of 21 INH‑R isolates harboured any mutation in 109‑bp fragment of katG exhibited mutant type HRM curves. However, 1 RIF‑R and 3 INH‑R isolates were falsely identified as susceptible which were confirmed for having no mutation in their target regions by sequencing. The main mutations involved in RIF and INH resistance were found at codons rpoB531 (60% of RIF‑R isolates) and katG315 (85.7% of INH‑R isolates), respectively. Conclusion: HRM was found to be a reliable, rapid and low cost method to characterise drug susceptibility of clinical TB isolates in resource‑limited settings.

Detection of mutation in isoniazid-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from tuberculosis patients in Belarus.

The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, location and type of katG mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from patients in Belarus. Forty two isoniazid-resistant isolates were identified from sputum of 163 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. Drug susceptibility testing was determined by using CDC standard conventional proportional method and BACTEC system. Standard PCR method for detection of isoniazid resistance associated mutations was performed by katG gene amplification and DNA sequencing. Most mutations were found in katG gene codons 315, 316 and 309. Four types of mutations were identified in codon 315: AGC-->ACC (n=36) 85%, AGC-->AGG (n=1) 2.3%, AGC-->AAC (n=2) 4.7%, AGC-->GGC (n=1) 2.3%. One type of mutation was found in codon 316: GGC-->AGC (n=18) 41.4%, four types of mutations were detected in codon 309: GGT-->GGT (n=7) 16.1%, GGT-->GCT (n=4) 9.2%, GGT-->GTC (n=3)6.9%, GGT-->GGG (n=1) 2.7%. The highest frequency of mutations sharing between primary and secondary infections was found in codon 315.