[Molecular Mechanisms of Drug Tolerance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis].

A dramatic increase in drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis (TB) stimulates a search for novel anti-TB drugs and studies of the drug resistance acquisition. One of the possible causes is a phenotypic resistance or drug tolerance which is not associated with genomic changes. The majority of anti-TB drugs eliminate 99% of MTB cells in 3-5 days, but the remaining subpopulation becomes unsusceptible to treatment and capable for long-term persistence with ability to resuscitate once the external adverse factor is removed. This evasion of the stress factor facilitates selection of resistant forms, thus warranting long-term treatment with at least four antibacterial drugs in TB. The review considers the main mechanisms of bacterial tolerance that are due to alterations in the cell wall, activation of efflux pumps, induction of transcriptional regulons, changes in metabolic flows, and modification of molecular machineries.

[Analysis of genetic determinants of multidrug and extensively drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis using oligonucleotide microchip].

Steadily growing resistance of the tuberculosis causative agent towards a broad spectrum of anti-tuberculosis drugs calls for rapid and reliable methods for identifying the genetic determinants responsible for this resistance. In this study, we present a biochip-based method for simultaneous identification of mutations within rpoB gene associated with rifampin resistance, mutations in katG, inhA, ahpC genes responsible for isoniazid resistance, mutations within the regions of gyrA and gyrB genes leading to fluoroquinolones resistance, and mutations in the rrs gene and the eis promoter region associated with the resistance to kanamycin, capreomycin and amikacin. The oligonucleotide microchip, as the core element of this assay, provides simultaneous identification of 99 mutations in the format "one sample--one PCR--one microchip", and it makes it possible to complete analysis of multi-drug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis within a single day. The tests on 63 Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates with different resistance profiles using the developed approach allows us to reveal the spectrum of drug-resistance associated mutations, and to estimate the significance of the inclusion of extra genetic loci in the determination of M. tuberculosis drug resistance.

[Method for automated extraction and purification of nucleic acids and its implementation in microfluidic system].

A method and a microfluidic device for automated extraction and purification of nucleic acids from biological samples have been developed. The method involves disruption of bacterial cells and/or viral particles by combining enzymatic and chemical lysis procedures followed by solid-phase sorbent extraction and purification of nucleic acids. The procedure is carried out in an automated mode in a microfluidic module isolated from the outside environment, which minimizes contact of the researcher with potentially infectious samples and, consequently, decreases the risk of laboratory-acquired infections. The module includes reservoirs with lyophilized components for lysis and washing buffers; a microcolumn with a solid-phase sorbent; reservoirs containing water, ethanol, and water-ethanol buffer solutions for dissolving freeze-dried buffer components, rinsing the microcolumn, and eluting of nucleic acids; and microchannels and valves needed for directing fluids inside the module. The microfluidic module is placed into the control unit that delivers pressure, heats, mixes reagents, and flows solutions within the microfluidic module. The microfluidic system performs extraction and purification of nucleic acids with high efficiency in 40 min, and nucleic acids extracted can be directly used in PCR reaction and microarray assays.

[New method of construction of artificial translational-coupled operons in bacterial chromosome].

The new method of translational-coupled operons construction in bacterial chromosome has been developed on the basis of recombineering approach. It includes construction in vitro of the artificial operon with efficiently translated proximal cistron followed by its insertion E. coli chromosome, modification of the operon due to Red-driven insertion of the special "Junction" with excisable selective marker in the intercistronic region of the initial operon and excising the marker. The structure of this Junction has been designed and tested in the present investigation. It consists of: 1) E. coli rplC-rplD intercistronic region for placing the TAA-codon of the proximal operon's gene in the SD-sequence (TAAGGAG) of rplD; 2) Cm(R)-gene flanked by lambdaattL/R-sites in such a fashion that after lambdaInt/Xis-driven excision of the marker the residual lambdaattB-site would not contain the termination codons in frame with ATG of rplD; 3) E. coli trpE-trpD intercistronic region for location of ATG of trpD at the position of initiation codon of the distal gene of original operon. The general design of desired construction provides the conversion of the original two-cistronic operon into three-cistronic operon with translational-coupled genes, where the coupling of the artificial ORF (rplD'-lambdaattB-'trpE) with the proximal gene is occurred due to rplC-rplD intercistronic region and the coupling of this ORF with the distal gene--due to trpE-trpD. The experimental implementation of the described strategy was showed by construction of artificial operon P(tac-aroG4-serA5, where expression optimization of the distal serA5 gene was achieved via construction of three-cistronic operon with translational-coupled genes.

[Tuning of expression level of the genes of interest located in the bacterial chromosome].

The new method of construction of the set of E. coli clones, differing in the promoter strength upstream the gene of interest, has been developed and tested using native E. coli MG 1655 lacZ gene as the reporter. This method includes the construction of the promoter-carrying DNA fragment obtained by PCR with consensus P(tac) as a template and the primers that lead to randomization of 4 central nucleotides in the promoter "-35"-region, linking the obtained fragments with the selective marker (Cm(R)) followed by Red-driven integration of the resulted DNA fragments directly in E. coli MG1655 chromosome instead the native lacI-gene and promoter/operator region of lac-operon. Due to direct determination of LacZ-activity in the independently obtained clones-integrants, we have found 14 new promoters (from 44 = 256 possible variants) that differ in their strength up to 100 fold (LacZ-activity in the corresponding strains smoothly varies from 10(2) for the weakest tested promoter up to 10(4) Miller U detected for the initial P(tac)). Sequencing of obtained promoters revealed that randomization of three positions in the "-35"-region is sufficient to obtain representative promoter library that would decrease the total number of potential promoter variants from 256 up to 64. It seems probable that exploiting of the developed method leading to one-step construction the library of clones with varied expression of gene/operon of interest could be useful tool in the modem metabolic engineering for optimization of genes expression.