Development and application of multiprobe real-time PCR method targeting the hsp65 gene for differentiation of Mycobacterium species from isolates and sputum specimens.

We developed a multiprobe real-time PCR assay targeting hsp65 (HMPRT-PCR) to detect and identify mycobacterial isolates and isolates directly from sputum specimens. Primers and probes for HMPRT-PCR were designed on the basis of the hsp65 gene sequence, enabling the recognition of seven pathogenic mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. avium, M. intracellulare, M. kansasii, M. abscessus, M. massiliense, and M. fortuitum. This technique was applied to 24 reference and 133 clinical isolates and differentiated between all strains with 100% sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, this method was applied to sputum specimens from 117 consecutive smear-positive patients with smear results of from a trace to 3+. These results were then compared to those obtained using the rpoB PCR-restriction analysis method with samples from cultures of the same sputum specimens. The HMPRT-PCR method correctly identified the mycobacteria in 89 samples (76.0%, 89/117), and moreover, the sensitivity level was increased to 94.3% (50/53) for sputa with an acid-fast bacillus score equal to or greater than 2+. Our data suggest that this novel HMPRT-PCR method could be a promising approach for detecting pathogenic mycobacterial species from sputum samples and culture isolates routinely in a clinical setting.

A Kinship Analysis of Ancient Human Bones and Teeth from Mongolia / 체질인류학회지

The kinship was analyzed genetically on the three 2000 year old ancient human bones and teeth excavated in Mongolia. The samples were processed in a clean room to prevent the contamination from modern human DNA. The DNA extraction and purification was done with ion-exchange column kit (Qiagen G-tip 20G, USA). The PCR was done with purified DNAs from ancient human bones for paternal Y-SNP haplogroup, maternal mtDNA haplogroup, and autosomal short tandem repeats (STR). Two samples belonged to the maternal D major haplogroup, which is one of the most frequent types in the present North East Asia. One of them, showing male genotype, belonged to the paternal C major haplogroup, which is also one of the most frequent types in the present North East Asia. The remaining one belonged to the paternal R major haplogroup, frequent in the present Europe, and the maternal U haplogroup, frequent in the present Europe and East Mediterranean. The repeated results were consistent in the autosomal STR PCR. The STR data were analyzed with DNA-VIEW program (http://www.dna-view.com), which showed no close kinship among the three ancient humans. Our method was successful in the analyzing kinship among ancient human bones, which has been possible in few restricted laboratories in the World. Authors anticipate that many researchers could do their research in a better way to get the genetic information from ancient human bones.