Strategies for differentiation, identification and typing of medically important species of mycobacteria by molecular methods

Molecular biology methods offer new opportunities to differentiate, identify and type bacterial species and strains. These methods use the variability of nucleic sequences of genes such as 16S rDNA, beta subunit RNA-ase (rpoB), gyrase (gyrB), rDNA internal transcribed spacer and other genes. The aim of this paper is to provide comprehensive information about the methods available to differentiate and identify species of mycobacteria at the DNA sequence level. The methods discussed in the review include PCR, PCR-REA, sequencing analysis, spoligotyping and DNA fingerprinting, These methods have been applied to both the "universal" part of the genome and to specific mycobacterial genes.