Anna Vyazovaya

TL;DR: A simple multiplex allele-specific (MAS)-PCR assay to detect mutations in the second base of the katG gene codon 315, including AGC→ACC and ACA (Ser→Thr) substitutions that confer resistance to isoniazid (INH) in Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates is described.

TL;DR: It is suggested that the M. tuberculosis Beijing family strains currently circulating in the northwest of Russia are relatively ancient and thus appear to be endemic in this region since evolutionarily distant time.

TL;DR: A dissemination of the prevailing local Beijing clones to have started earlier in South Africa rather than in Russia since more monomorphic loci were identified in Russian samples than in South African samples, implying the evolution of the Beijing genotype to be generally strictly clonal.

TL;DR: A broadly inclusive unifying Genome-wide Mycobacterium tuberculosis Variation (GMTV) database, (http://mtb.dobzhanskycenter.org) that catalogues genome variations of M. tuberculosis strains collected across Russia, facilitates disease gene discoveries associated with drug resistance or different clinical sequelae, and automates comparative genomic analyses among M. TB strains.

TL;DR: The spoligotyping method allows digital presentation of profiles and therefore it is perfectly suitable for interlaboratory comparison and database management; it may become a powerful tool for epidemiological monitoring and phylogenetic analysis of C. diphtheriae.