This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mostowy, S.
Right arrow Articles by Behr, M. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mostowy, S.
Right arrow Articles by Behr, M. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, January 2004, p. 104-109, Vol. 186, No. 1
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.1.104-109.2003
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Genomic Interrogation of the Dassie Bacillus Reveals It as a Unique RD1 Mutant within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex

Serge Mostowy,1 Debby Cousins,2 and Marcel A. Behr1*

McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada H3G 1A4,1 Australian Reference Laboratory for Bovine Tuberculosis, Department of Agriculture, South Perth 6151, Australia2

Received 2 October 2003/ Accepted 6 October 2003

Despite their remarkable genetic homology, members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex express very different phenotypes, most notably in their spectra of clinical presentation. For example, M. tuberculosis is regarded as pathogenic to humans, whereas members having deleted RD1, such as Mycobacterium microti and Mycobacterium bovis BCG, are not. The dassie bacillus, an infrequent variant of the M. tuberculosis complex characterized as being most similar to M. microti, is the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB) in the dassie (Procavia capensis). Intriguingly, the dassie bacillus is not pathogenic to rabbits or guinea pigs and has never been documented to infect humans. Although it was identified more than a half-century ago, the reasons behind its attenuation are unknown. Because large sequence polymorphisms have presented themselves as the most obvious genomic distinction among members of the M. tuberculosis complex, the DNA content of the dassie bacillus was interrogated by Affymetrix GeneChip to identify regions that are absent from it but present in M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Comparison has led to the identification of nine regions of difference (RD), five of which are shared with M. microti (RDs 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10). Although the dassie bacillus does not share the other documented deletions in M. microti (RD1mic, RD5mic, MID1, MID2, and MID3), it has endured unique deletions in the regions of RD1, RD5, N-RD25, and Rv3081-Rv3082c (virS). RD1das, affecting only Rv3874-Rv3877, is the smallest natural deletion of the RD1 region uncovered and points to genes within this region that are likely implicated in virulence. Newfound deletions from the dassie bacillus are discussed in relation to their evolutionary and biological significance.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, A5-156, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Ave., Montreal, QC H3G 1A4, Canada. Phone: (514) 934-1934, ext. 42815. Fax: (514) 934-8423. E-mail: marcel.behr{at}mcgill.ca.

Journal of Bacteriology, January 2004, p. 104-109, Vol. 186, No. 1
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.1.104-109.2003
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • van Ingen, J., de Zwaan, R., Dekhuijzen, R., Boeree, M., van Soolingen, D. (2009). Region of Difference 1 in Nontuberculous Mycobacterium Species Adds a Phylogenetic and Taxonomical Character. J. Bacteriol. 191: 5865-5867 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Muller, B., Hilty, M., Berg, S., Garcia-Pelayo, M. C., Dale, J., Boschiroli, M. L., Cadmus, S., Ngandolo, B. N. R., Godreuil, S., Diguimbaye-Djaibe, C., Kazwala, R., Bonfoh, B., Njanpop-Lafourcade, B. M., Sahraoui, N., Guetarni, D., Aseffa, A., Mekonnen, M. H., Razanamparany, V. R., Ramarokoto, H., Djonne, B., Oloya, J., Machado, A., Mucavele, C., Skjerve, E., Portaels, F., Rigouts, L., Michel, A., Muller, A., Kallenius, G., van Helden, P. D., Hewinson, R. G., Zinsstag, J., Gordon, S. V., Smith, N. H. (2009). African 1, an Epidemiologically Important Clonal Complex of Mycobacterium bovis Dominant in Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad. J. Bacteriol. 191: 1951-1960 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Turenne, C. Y., Wallace, R. Jr., Behr, M. A. (2007). Mycobacterium avium in the Postgenomic Era. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 20: 205-229 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Huard, R. C., Fabre, M., de Haas, P., Claudio Oliveira Lazzarini, L., van Soolingen, D., Cousins, D., Ho, J. L. (2006). Novel Genetic Polymorphisms That Further Delineate the Phylogeny of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 4271-4287 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brodin, P., Majlessi, L., Marsollier, L., de Jonge, M. I., Bottai, D., Demangel, C., Hinds, J., Neyrolles, O., Butcher, P. D., Leclerc, C., Cole, S. T., Brosch, R. (2006). Dissection of ESAT-6 System 1 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Impact on Immunogenicity and Virulence. Infect. Immun. 74: 88-98 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Brodin, P., de Jonge, M. I., Majlessi, L., Leclerc, C., Nilges, M., Cole, S. T., Brosch, R. (2005). Functional Analysis of Early Secreted Antigenic Target-6, the Dominant T-cell Antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Reveals Key Residues Involved in Secretion, Complex Formation, Virulence, and Immunogenicity. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 33953-33959 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mostowy, S., Inwald, J., Gordon, S., Martin, C., Warren, R., Kremer, K., Cousins, D., Behr, M. A. (2005). Revisiting the Evolution of Mycobacterium bovis. J. Bacteriol. 187: 6386-6395 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fortune, S. M., Jaeger, A., Sarracino, D. A., Chase, M. R., Sassetti, C. M., Sherman, D. R., Bloom, B. R., Rubin, E. J. (2005). Mutually dependent secretion of proteins required for mycobacterial virulence. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 10676-10681 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mostowy, S., Onipede, A., Gagneux, S., Niemann, S., Kremer, K., Desmond, E. P., Kato-Maeda, M., Behr, M. (2004). Genomic Analysis Distinguishes Mycobacterium africanum. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 3594-3599 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»