| Grant number: | 14/01825-6 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |
| Start date: | August 01, 2014 |
| End date: | February 29, 2016 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology |
| Agreement: | Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) |
| Principal Investigator: | Sylvia Luisa Pincherle Cardoso Leão |
| Grantee: | Gabriel Esquitini Machado |
| Host Institution: | Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 11/18326-4 - Mycobacteria and extrachromosomal elements: molecular characterization and biotechnological applications, AP.TEM |
Abstract Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium kansasii species are nontuberculous mycobacteria that can cause different types of infections especially in immunocompromised patients. HIV-positive patients are frequent targets of infection by these species. In one of the works developed in our laboratory, the IS1245 sequence (specific for M. avium) was observed in all analyzed isolates of M. avium (4 colonies), as well as in 8 of 11 isolates of M. kansasii from a mixed culture of an HIV -positive patient. The presence of this genetic element was confirmed by PCR, RFLP and sequencing. In a subsequent study also performed in our laboratory, a 100 kb linear plasmid (pMA100) by PFGE was observed in those isolates of M. avium and M. kansasii PCR - positive for the IS1245 sequence. The linear plasmid was confirmed with tests and topoisomarease exonuclease I, some experiments have suggested the presence of covalently linked proteins at the ends of the plasmid pMA100. These findings led to the hypothesis that the plasmid pMA100 would be responsible for the natural transfer the IS1245 element of M. avium for M. kansasii by conjugation. In vitro experiments have reproduced this event conjugation between isolates of M. avium (donor plasmid) and different unrelated strains of M. kansasii, and even isolates of Mycobacterium bovis BCG. The horizontal transfer of genes between different species of mycobacteria was first demonstrated in our laboratory, and this project will continue the study of this plasmid. (AU) | |
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