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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2006, p. 2093-2098, Vol. 44, No. 6
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JCM.00278-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
INSERM U431, Avenir Team, UFR de Médecine, CS 83021, Avenue Kennedy, 30908 Nîmes Cedex 02, France,1 GEMI, UMR CNRS-IRD 9926, Centre IRD de Montpellier, France2
Received 8 February 2006/ Returned for modification 31 March 2006/ Accepted 5 April 2006
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Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) represent another source of genetic diversity that can provide useful markers for evolutionary and epidemiological studies in clinical M. tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis is a species with a relatively low polymorphism rate, probably linked to an evolutionary recent global dissemination in humans (17, 20). Sequence analysis of 26 structural genes or 24 genes coding for proteins that are targets of the host immune system from phylogenetically diverse M. tuberculosis isolates indicated a very low rate of SNPs (17, 20). Synonymous SNPs or SNPs that do not confer selective advantage are particularly useful for phylogenetic studies because they are not subject to selective pressure. SNPs at codon 463 of the katG gene and at codon 95 of the gyrA gene are the basis for the classification of M. tuberculosis isolates into three principal genotypic groups (20). Several other SNPs have been described as variable between different tubercle bacilli subspecies. For example, a SNP in the narGHIJ promoter region appears to be specific for M. tuberculosis (21), whereas an SNP in oxyR is specific to M. bovis (19). To date, no specific SNPs have been described to differentiate the main epidemic groups.
MgtC (Rv1811) is a virulence factor of M. tuberculosis involved in intramacrophage survival and adaptation to magnesium limitation (3). The M. tuberculosis mgtC promoter has been shown to be a strong promoter that is expressed intracellularly (23). MgtC appears to be a remarkable factor since, to our knowledge, it provides the only clear example of an acquired intramacrophage growth factor shared by several unrelated intracellular pathogens that survive in phagosomes: M. tuberculosis, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Brucella suis, and Burkholderia cenocepacia (2, 3, 11, 14). Genes encoding MgtC-like proteins are found in a limited number of eubacterial genomes, and analysis of the phylogeny of MgtC-like proteins and mgtC chromosomal regions suggests that mgtC has been acquired by horizontal gene transfer repeatedly throughout bacterial evolution (1). In mycobacteria, MgtC appears to be absent from rapid growers, and genomic sequencing has confirmed that mgtC is absent from M. smegmatis, suggesting that mgtC might have been acquired after the separation between slow and rapid growers. We have proposed that mgtC of M. tuberculosis is encoded by a 15-kb region that might have been acquired by horizontal transfer (1). Because horizontal gene transfer seems extremely rare in M. tuberculosis (10), the study of mgtC polymorphism might be informative with regard to mgtC evolution. In addition, the study of virulence genes polymorphism is of particular interest to determine whether such genes are under selection pressure.
In the present study, we investigated the polymorphism of mgtC in clinical isolates representative of the genetic diversity of M. tuberculosis to explore the molecular evolution of this virulence gene. We identified an SNP in mgtC that appears to be specific for the Haarlem genotype, and we describe a novel simple PCR-based assay to detect SNPs from mycobacterial cultures.
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TABLE 1. Characteristics of M. tuberculosis complex strains and mgtC polymorphism based on DNA sequences
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TABLE 2. Characteristics of the M. tuberculosis strains that were tested by the on/off switch assay to analyze the mgtC182 polymorphism
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Sequencing of the mgtC gene. Genomic DNAs were used as a template for PCR amplification of the mgtC gene using specific primers located approximately 80 bp upstream and downstream the mgtC gene: mgtC-F (5'-CGCCTAGGCTCAAACTGCTG-3') and mgtC-R (5'-CAATACCCGGCGGATCTACC-3'). PCR mix (Goldstar Mix; Eurogentec, Seraing, Belgium) was used with 10 ng of chromosomal DNA and each primer at 200 nM in a total volume of 50 µl. The reactions were initiated with a 5-min denaturation at 95°C, and primer extension was then carried out for 40 cycles as follows: denaturation for 30 s at 95°C, annealing for 30 s at 50°C, a 1-min extension at 72°C, and finally a 5-min extension at 72°C. PCR products were visualized by using 1% agarose gel electrophoresis and were purified by using a NucleoSpin extract II kit (Macherey-Nagel, Düren, Germany). The sequencing was performed by MWG-Biotech (Erbersberg, Germany) with mgtC-F primer. Sequences were performed on both strands when a polymorphism was found.
Detection of mgtC182 SNP by on/off switch PCR assay. To detect mgtC codon 182 (mgtC182) SNP, we set up a PCR-based technique described earlier as a "on/off swith assay" (25). We used Pfu polymerase (Promega, Madison, WI), a high-fidelity DNA polymerase with 3' exonuclease activity. Phosphorothioate modification renders primers nuclease resistant. The forward primer SNP-F (5'-GCAAACGCTGACTGTCGC-3') was common to Haarlem and non-Haarlem genotypes. The reverse primers harbor a 3' end phosphorothioate-modified nucleotide and are specific to the wild-type (SNP-182G-R, 5'-CTCCGGCCGGCCCCGTGCPS-3') or mutated (SNP-182A-R, 5'-CTCCGGCCGGCCCCGTGTPS-3') codon at position 182. The reactions included 4 pmol of primers, 200 µM concentrations of each deoxynucleotide triphosphate, 2 µl of 10x PCR buffer, 0.4 U of Pfu polymerase, and 4 ng of chromosomal DNA template in a final volume of 20 µl. The reactions were initiated with a 2-min denaturation at 95°C; primer extension was then carried out for 30 cycles as follows: 30-s denaturation at 95°C, 30-s annealing at 78°C, and 30-s extension at 72°C, with a final 10-min extension at 72°C. PCR products, 560 bp in length, were visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. The PCR amplification was also carried out on M. tuberculosis cultures. Bacteria were first inactivated 40 min at 80°C and were boiled for 20 min before storage at 80°C. Assays were performed as described above using 0.4 µl of undiluted culture.
We also used the on/off switch PCR assay for the detection of katG463 and gyrA95 SNPs to define the genetic categories of M. tuberculosis isolates (19). For katG463, the forward primer was katG-F (5'-GCCTTGGGCTCCAGCACG-3') and the two reverse primers were katG-R1, specific to group 1 (5'-CAGCCTTAAGAGCCAGATCCTPS-3'), and katG-R23, specific to groups 2 and 3 (5'-GCCTTAAGAGCCAGATCCGPS-3'). For gyrA95, the forward primer was gyrA-F (5'-ATGACAGACACGACGTTGCC-3') and the two reverse primers were gyrA-R12, specific to groups 1 and 2 (5'-GGGCCATGCGCACCAGGGPS-3'), and gyrA-R3, specific to group 3 (5'-GGGCCATGCGCACCAGGCPS-3'). In the on/off switch PCR assay, the annealing temperature was 65°C (katG-R1), 60°C (katG-R23), or 69°C (gyrA-R12 and gyrA-R3).
Cloning of M. tuberculosis mgtC gene and site-directed mutagenesis. The mgtC gene from M. tuberculosis was amplified by PCR with H37Rv chromosomal DNA as a template (a gift from T. Stinear, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France) and mgtCmtbSph-F (5'-ACATGCATGCAAACGCTGACTGTCGCCG-3') and mgtCmtbEco-R (5'-GGAATTCTCATTCGGCCTGCGCGTG-3') primers. The PCR fragment was cloned at the SphI and EcoRI sites of plasmid pNM11, a pBR322 plasmid derivative that harbors the serovar Typhimurium mgtC promoter (A.-B. Blanc-Potard, unpublished data). The resulting plasmid, pNM13, expressed the MgtC protein from M. tuberculosis with transcriptional and translational regulation sites of the mgtC gene of serovar Typhimurium. The Haarlem genotype-specific mutation at codon 182 was introduced in pNM13 by using the QuikChange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) according to the manufacturer's instructions and the two complementary primers R182H-F (5'-GCGGGGTATACACACGGGGCCG-3') and R182H-R (5'-CGGCCCCGTGTGTATACCCCGC-3'). The mutated plasmid was called pNM70.
Complementation experiments in serovar Typhimurium.
The serovar Typhimurium NM14 strain (
mgtC) was transformed by electroporation with plasmids encoding MgtC from M. tuberculosis, pNM13 (wild type), and pNM70 (mutation R182H). NM14 was also transformed by pNM11 that harbors only the mgtC promoter and was used as negative control. Two phenotypes were tested in complementation experiments: growth in magnesium-deprived medium and intramacrophage survival. Growth in magnesium-deprived medium was performed in NCE medium supplemented with 10 µM MgCl2 as described previously (2), and the optical density at 600 nm was measured after 18 h of growth. The rate of intramacrophage replication at 18 h postinfection was determined in J774 macrophages as described previously (2).
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Development of a PCR-based assay to distinguish the mgtC182 polymorphism. To confirm the association of the mgtC182 polymorphism with the Haarlem genotype, we have extended our analysis to 29 additional M. tuberculosis isolates described by Kremer et al. (13). The additional isolates included mainly strains of group 2 belonging or not belonging to the Haarlem genotype. Several methods have been used to detect SNPs in M. tuberculosis isolates, including analysis of PCR fragments by direct sequencing, hybridization with specific probes, restriction fragment length polymorphism, or single-strand conformation polymorphism (5, 20, 22). Single-step methods based on real-time PCR (20), amplification refractory mutation system (6) or hairpin primers (9) have also been used with diverse efficiencies. In the present study, we developed a simple and reliable method suitable to identify known mutations to distinguish between nucleotide G and A at the second position of codon 182.
We have used a technique called the "on/off switch assay" (25) based on the use of 3' exonuclease proficient polymerase (Pfu polymerase) and specific primers resistant to this 3' exonuclease activity due to 3' phosphorothioate modification (Fig. 1A). The method was set up on two strains that have the wild-type or mutant allele at codon 182 (Fig. 1B), and we subsequently verified the validity of the method on mgtC genes that have been sequenced (not shown). The on/off switch assay was then applied to 29 additional chromosomal DNA to determine the nucleotide at codon 182 of mgtC. All data were unambiguous, and we found that all additional Haarlem strains tested had an A at position 182, whereas all non-Haarlem strains, including strains from group 2, had a G at position 182 (Table 2). Therefore, the SNP identified at codon 182 in mgtC appears to be associated with the Haarlem genotype since it was specifically found in 14 Haarlem strains of very different origin of 63 DNAs tested. According to our results, the Erdman reference strain should belong to the Haarlem genotype. The Erdman strain has not been ascribed to any genotype, but its octal spoligocode (15), which is not found in the SpolDB3.0 database, is very close to the ST47 spoligocode that characterizes Haarlem 1 strains.
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FIG. 1. On/off switch PCR-based assay to analyze the mgtC182 polymorphism. (A) Illustration of the on/off switch assay. The technique uses two sets of primers with an identical forward primer (SNP-F) and variable phosphorothioate-modified "SNP-specific" reverse primers. The SNP-specific primers differ only at the 3'-end nucleotide that is complementary to the wild-type sequence (SNP-182G-R) or the mutant sequence (SNP-182A-R). Two PCRs are performed, one with each of the two SNP-specific primers. Amplification occurs only if the 3' end of the SNP-specific primer matches the sequence of the template. In case of mismatching, the mismatched phosphorothioate-modified reverse primer is trapped within the exo-domain of the Pfu polymerase during proofreading, blocking DNA polymerization. (B) Analysis of the mgtC182 polymorphism by on/off switch assay. Lanes 1 to 4, optimization of conditions for the assay using chromosomal DNA from Haarlem (lanes 1 to 2, CIP 0443) or non-Haarlem (lanes 3 to 4, CIP 0357) strains; lanes 5 to 16, analysis of the mgtC182 polymorphism using cultures of Haarlem (lanes 5 to 6, strain 14; lanes 7 to 8, strain 45) or non-Haarlem (lanes 9 to 10, ITM 990020; lanes 11 to 12 ITM 981277; lanes 13 to 14, ITM 021038, lanes 15 to 16, ITM 993123) strains. The reverse modified primer is either SNP-182A-R (lanes 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15) or SNP-182G-R (lanes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16).
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The Haarlem-associated mutation does not change the MgtC function. An increased rate of fixation of nonsynomymous mutations relative to synonymous mutations is considered evidence of positive selection acting on improved properties of the corresponding proteins. In addition, the role of MgtC in the virulence of M. tuberculosis has been shown in Erdman strain (3), which harbors the R182H mutation. In this context, we were interested in testing whether the R182H mutation confers a selective advantage to the MgtC protein. To compare the function of M. tuberculosis MgtC proteins harboring an R or H at position 182, we performed complementation experiments in a mgtC mutant of serovar Typhimurium. Heterologous expression of M. tuberculosis MgtC proteins in Salmonella provides a simple and rapid way to test for MgtC-associated phenotypes. The mgtC mutant of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium is defective for growth in low-magnesium medium and replication inside macrophages (2). The introduction of the M. tuberculosis mgtC wild-type gene improves significantly the growth of the Salmonella mutant in low-magnesium medium and its replication in macrophages (Fig. 2). An effect of similar magnitude is found with a MgtC variant found in Haarlem strains that carry a histidine at codon 182 (Fig. 2). Even though we cannot exclude that the behavior of these genes in Salmonella does not exactly reflect their behavior in M. tuberculosis or that there might be slight differences that are not be detected in this assay, this result suggests that the arginine-to-histidine substitution, both of which are polar amino acids, does not have functional impact. The fact that mgtC182 polymorphism does not appear independently on multiple groups of M. tuberculosis strains could also be a feature of a neutral nonsynonymous SNP or could reflect a rare mutation. If the mgtC182 mutation found in Haarlem strains is not driven by adaptative functional modification, it could provide a useful genetic tool to distinguish between Haarlem and non-Haarlem strains.
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FIG. 2. Comparison of the activity of MgtC wild-type and MgtC R182H variant from M. tuberculosis by complementation assay in serovar Typhimurium. Plasmids expressing MgtC wild-type from M. tuberculosis (pNM13) or the MgtC R182H variant (pNM70) were introduced into a serovar Typhimurium mgtC strain. A plasmid without the mgtC gene (pNM11) was used as a negative control. The data are means from three different experiments. Asterisks indicate statistical significance (P < 0.05) compared to pNM11. No significant difference was found between pNM13 and pNM70 plasmids. (A) Complementation assay for growth in magnesium-deprived NCE medium. (B) Complementation assay for replication in J774 macrophages. The percentage of replication comparatively to a wild-type strain of Salmonella serovar Typhimurium is shown.
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E.A. is supported by INSERM and Région Languedoc-Roussillon. A.-B.B.-P. is supported by the INSERM Avenir program and CANAM.
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