01412nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002400055653001200079653001800091653002300109653003100132653002100163653001100184653001200195653000900207653002800216653001300244653002500257653001300282100001400295700001300309245006800322300001000390490000700400520068900407022001401096       1993                            d  c1993 Mar10aAmino Acid Sequence10aAnimals10aBase Sequence10aConserved Sequence10aDrug Resistance, Microbial10aGenes, Bacterial10aHumans10aleprosy10aMice10aMolecular Sequence Data10aMutation10aMycobacterium leprae10aRifampin1 aHonoré N1 aCole S T00aMolecular basis of rifampin resistance in Mycobacterium leprae.  a414-80 v373 a<p>Rifampin is currently the most potent drug used in leprosy control programs. We show that the rifampin resistance which emerged in nine patients with lepromatous leprosy, who had received rifampin monotherapy, stemmed from mutations in the rpoB gene, which encodes the beta subunit of RNA polymerase of Mycobacterium leprae. In eight cases missense mutations were found to affect a serine residue, Ser-425, while in the remaining mutant a small insertion was found close to this site. These findings will be of use for the development of a rapid screening procedure, involving the polymerase chain reaction, for monitoring the emergence of rifampin-resistant M. leprae strains.</p>  a0066-4804