Molecular Heterogeneity In The Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Complex Isolated From Lagos, Abuja And Kano, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is the causative agent of human and animal tuberculosis (TB). Complex membership signify how closely related they are clonally. Since the true nature of an organism lies within the genes, this molecular-based study explored unique regions of variation or polymorphism within the chromosomes that serve as targets for differentiaton, to improve our understanding of this unique group of bacteria. While extensive data exist for the molecular characterization of the MTBC in most parts of the world, reports on the application of such specialized molecular techniques on our indigenous trains are very sparse. This study represents an effort to explore the potentials of applying some of these techniques on our clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from three different geographic areas of Nigeria and is the first of its kind.

Ninety-six (96) M. tuberculosis complex isolates recovered from sputa of clinically-positive tuberculosis patients presenting at five chest clinics in Lagos, Abuja and Kano were subjected to(1) 1S6110-Restition  fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). (2) Spacer oligonucleotide (3) Synonymous and (4) Non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing techniques.