02079nas a2200385   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653003200055653002800087653001100115653001100126653001600137653002200153653001100175653001000186653001200196653000900208653002700217653002500244653003000269653002400299100001200323700001400335700001100349700001600360700001500376700001600391700001200407245008300419856007200502300001100574490000700585520108700592022001401679       2004                            d  c2004 Nov10aBacterial Typing Techniques10aCross-Sectional Studies10aFamily10aFemale10aGene Dosage10aGenetic Variation10aHumans10aIndia10aleprosy10aMale10aMicrosatellite Repeats10aMycobacterium leprae10apolymerase chain reaction10aSpecies Specificity1 aYoung S1 aTaylor MG1 aJain S1 aSuneetha LM1 aSuneetha S1 aLockwood DN1 aYoung D00aMicrosatellite mapping of Mycobacterium leprae populations in infected humans.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC525249/pdf/0789-04.pdf  a4931-60 v423 a<p>To investigate genetic diversity in a bacterial population, we measured the copy numbers of simple sequence repeats, or microsatellites, in Mycobacterium leprae from patients living in and around Hyderabad, India. Three microsatellite loci containing trinucleotide or dinucleotide repeats were amplified from infected tissues, and the copy numbers were established by sequence analysis. Extensive diversity was observed in a cross-sectional survey of 33 patients, but closely related profiles were found for members of a multicase family likely to share a common transmission source. Sampling of multiple tissues from single individuals demonstrated identical microsatellite profiles in the skin, nasal cavity, and bloodstream but revealed differences at one or more loci for M. leprae present in nerves. Microsatellite mapping of M. leprae represents a useful tool for tracking short transmission chains. Comparison of skin and nerve lesions suggests that the evolution of disease within an individual involves the expansion of multiple distinct subpopulations of M. leprae.</p>  a0095-1137