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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2005, p. 1546-1551, Vol. 43, No. 4
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.4.1546-1551.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem Repeat Typing of Mycobacterium ulcerans

Anthony Ablordey,1 Jean Swings,2,3 Christine Hubans,4 Karim Chemlal,5 Camille Locht,5 Françoise Portaels,1 and Philip Supply5*

Mycobacteriology Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp,1 Laboratory of Microbiology,2 BCCM/LMG Culture Collection, University Ghent, Ghent, Belgium,3 Laboratoire des Biopuces,4 Laboratoire des Mécanismes Moléculaires de la Pathogenèse Bactérienne, INSERM U629, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille Cedex, France5

Received 5 October 2004/ Returned for modification 19 November 2004/ Accepted 6 December 2004

The apparent genetic homogeneity of Mycobacterium ulcerans contributes to the poorly understood epidemiology of M. ulcerans infection. Here, we report the identification of variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) sequences as novel polymorphic elements in the genome of this species. A total of 19 potential VNTR loci identified in the closely related M. marinum genome sequence were screened in a collection of 23 M. ulcerans isolates, one Mycobacterium species referred to here as an intermediate species, and five M. marinum strains. Nine of the 19 loci were polymorphic in the three species (including the intermediate species) and revealed eight M. ulcerans and five M. marinum genotypes. The results from the VNTR analysis corroborated the genetic relationships of M. ulcerans isolates from various geographical origins, as defined by independent molecular markers. Although these results further highlight the extremely high clonal homogeneity within certain geographic regions, we report for the first time the discrimination of the two South American strains from Surinam and French Guyana. These findings support the potential of a VNTR-based genotyping method for strain discrimination within M. ulcerans and M. marinum.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratoire des Mécanismes Moléculaires de la Pathogenèse Bactérienne, INSERM U629, Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1, rue du Professeur Calmette, F-59019 Lille Cedex, France. Phone: (33) 320871154. Fax: (33) 320871158. E-mail: philip.supply{at}pasteur-lille.fr.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2005, p. 1546-1551, Vol. 43, No. 4
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.4.1546-1551.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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