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Genotyping North American animal Mycobacterium bovis isolates using multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis
Lorene R Martinez1, Beth Harris, William C Black
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1682, USA.
Summary
Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) effectively genotypes Mycobacterium bovis strains from North American animals. A combination of MLVA and spoligotyping offers the highest resolution for tracking animal infections.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Microbiology
- Molecular Epidemiology
- Bacteriology
Background:
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains, including Mycobacterium bovis, require robust genotyping methods.
- Previous assessments of MLVA for North American M. bovis animal isolates were limited.
- MLVA offers high discriminatory power for bacterial strain differentiation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of MLVA for genotyping North American M. bovis animal isolates.
- To compare MLVA's discriminatory power with spoligotyping.
- To assess MLVA's concordance with traditional epidemiological data.
Main Methods:
- MLVA was performed on 41 epidemiologically diverse North American M. bovis animal isolates.
- Twenty-seven published VNTR loci were utilized for MLVA analysis.
- Spoligotyping was used as a comparative genotyping method.
Main Results:
- Nineteen of 27 VNTR loci were polymorphic, yielding 21 unique MLVA genotypes.
- A subset of 6 loci differentiated isolates into 14 genetically related groups, correlating well with epidemiological data.
- MLVA generally provided greater resolution than spoligotyping (11 groups).
Conclusions:
- MLVA is a powerful tool for characterizing the epidemiology of M. bovis animal infections in North America.
- Combining MLVA with spoligotyping provides the highest resolution for M. bovis genotyping.
- Further application of MLVA can enhance surveillance and control of M. bovis in animal populations.
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