Vincent V, Rigouts L, Nduwamahoro E, Holmes B, Cunningham J, Guillerm M, Nathanson CM, Moussy F, De Jong B, Portaels F, Ramsay A. The TDR Tuberculosis Strain Bank: a resource for basic science, tool development and diagnostic services. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2012 Jan;16(1):24-31.
Summary: The TDR-TB Strain Bank consists of 229 clinical M. tuberculosis isolates (single-colony derived cultures) plus five mycobacterial reference strains for purposes of identification. These are available as freeze-dried, viable strains or as heat-inactivated bacterial suspensions, quality controlled for purity, viability and authenticity. Isolates originated from diverse geographical settings and were selected for their resistance profiles against first- and second-line drugs. Low and high levels of resistance were determined by the minimum inhibitory concentrations of isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, streptomycin, ofloxacin, kanamycin, capreomycin, ethionamide and para-aminosalicylic acid. Sequencing for drug resistance mutations was performed on the relevant sections of the rpoB, katG, inhA, embB, rpsL, rrs, gyrA and gyrB genes. Typing using lineage-defining loci of mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeats indicated that the most important genetic lineages were represented.
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