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AssigneeThe Institute for Genomic Research
InventorsRobert David Fleischmann, Owen Richardson White, Claire Marie Fraser, John Craig Venter
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The present invention is directed to novel methodology whereby different populations of the tuberculosis bacterial pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or related Mycobacteria, can be genetically classified in relation to other isolates. Sites in the genome of Mycobacterium, which define previously unrecognized points of variability, are disclosed. The existence of this variability is of use to the clinician in order to consistently determine the identity of isolates of Mycobacterium responsible for individual cases of disease or disease outbreaks, thus suggesting appropriate choices for treatment protocols.
A method of evaluating the strain variation of a first strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, comprising the step of determining the nucleotide sequence of said first strain at positions in the complete sequence of the genome thereof, that correspond to positions where M. tuberculosis strains CDC 1551 and H37Rv differ as to their respective nucleotide sequences, and determining whether the nucleotide sequence of said first strain shows greater homology, at said positions, to the nucleotide sequence of strain CDC 1551 or H37Rv.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.