Comparative genomic analysis of two clonally related multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis by single molecule real time sequencing

Kenneth Siu Sing Leung, Kit Hang Siu, Kingsley King Gee Tam, Sabrina Wai Chi To, Rahim Rajwani, Pak Leung Ho, Samson Sai Yin Wong, Wei W. Zhao, Oliver Chiu Kit Ma, Wing Cheong Yam

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is posing a major threat to global TB control. In this study, we focused on two consecutive MDR-TB isolated from the same patient before and after the initiation of anti-TB treatment. To better understand the genomic characteristics of MDR-TB, Single Molecule Real-Time (SMRT) Sequencing and comparative genomic analyses was performed to identify mutations that contributed to the stepwise development of drug resistance and growth fitness in MDR-TB under in vivo challenge of anti-TB drugs. Result: Both pre-treatment and post-treatment strain demonstrated concordant phenotypic and genotypic susceptibility profiles toward rifampicin, pyrazinamide, streptomycin, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, cycloserine, ethionamide, and para-aminosalicylic acid. However, although both strains carried identical missense mutations at rpoB S531L, inhA C-15T, and embB M306V, MYCOTB Sensititre assay showed that the post-treatment strain had 16-, 8-, and 4-fold elevation in the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) toward rifabutin, isoniazid, and ethambutol respectively. The results have indicated the presence of additional resistant-related mutations governing the stepwise development of MDR-TB. Further comparative genomic analyses have identified three additional polymorphisms between the clinical isolates. These include a single nucleotide deletion at nucleotide position 360 of rv0888 in pre-treatment strain, and a missense mutation at rv3303c (lpdA) V44I and a 6-bp inframe deletion at codon 67-68 in rv2071c (cobM) in the post-treatment strain. Multiple sequence alignment showed that these mutations were occurring at highly conserved regions among pathogenic mycobacteria. Using structural-based and sequence-based algorithms, we further predicted that the mutations potentially have deleterious effect on protein function. Conclusion: This is the first study that compared the full genomes of two clonally-related MDR-TB clinical isolates during the course of anti-TB treatment. Our work has demonstrated the robustness of SMRT Sequencing in identifying mutations among MDR-TB clinical isolates. Comparative genome analysis also suggested novel mutations at rv0888, lpdA, and cobM that might explain the difference in antibiotic resistance and growth pattern between the two MDR-TB strains.
Original languageEnglish
Article number478
JournalFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology
Volume7
Issue numberNOV
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2017

Keywords

  • Comparative genomic analysis
  • Growth rate
  • Multidrug resistance
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
  • PacBio sequencing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Immunology
  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

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