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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

DNA Fingerprinting of Mycobacterium leprae Strains Using Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) - Fragment Length Analysis (FLA)
Published on: July 15, 2011
The RLEP-flanked polA gene from Mycobacterium leprae is not transcribed in Mycobacterium smegmatis
1Molecular Biology Unit, South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg.
Abstract:
A polA mutant of Mycobacterium smegmatis (Ms) lacking DNA polymerase activity could not support the replication of a pAL5000-derived plasmid or a derivative harbouring the RLEP-flanked polA gene from M. leprae (Mlep). In contrast, the plasmid containing the M. tuberculosis polA gene transformed the mutant with high efficiency and complemented its damage-sensitive phenotype suggesting that the replication of the pAL5000 origin is dependent on host PolI function and that the RLEP-flanked Mlep polA gene is not expressed in Ms.
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