A species-specific repetitive sequence in Mycobacterium leprae DNA

A 2.2-kilobase Mycobacterium leprae DNA insert fragment from a recombinant genomic library (pYA1065) was found to hybridize to at least 19 fragments of chromosomal M. leprae DNA by Southern hybridizations. The probe hybridized to identical fragments of chromosomal DNA from four M. leprae isolates (two from patients with leprosy, one from a naturally infected armadillo, and one from a naturally infected Mangabey monkey) whether the chromosomal DNA was digested with BamHI, BstEII, PstI, or SacI. The pYA1065 probe is specific for M. leprae; it did not hybridize to chromosomal DNA from 14 cultivable slow- and fast-growing mycobacterial species. Dot-blot hybridizations between pYA1065 and purified M. leprae chromosomal DNA indicate that the probe can detect DNA equivalent to 4 x 10(3) M. leprae cells in a spot. The probe can also hybridize to DNA in M. leprae cells spotted on a filter from homogenized skin biopsy specimens from patients with lepromatous leprosy.