Doctoral Degrees (Molecular Biology and Human Genetics)
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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Molecular Biology and Human Genetics) by Author "Chihota, Violet"
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- ItemThe molecular epidemiology of mycobacterium tuberculosis : role in understanding disease dynamics in high prevalence settings in Southern Africa region(Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011-03) Chihota, Violet; Warren, Robin M.; Van Helden, Paul D.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Health Sciences. Dept. of Biomedical Sciences.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The tuberculosis (TB) incidence has increased in Southern Africa and the situation is worsened by the emergence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Molecular biological techniques have been used to understand the disease dynamics of TB. In a series of studies we describe the use of these techniques to understand the disease dynamics of TB in Southern Africa. Using spoligotyping and IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) to characterize M. tuberculosis strains from TB patients in Zimbabwe, we identified a genotype causing a disproportionate number of TB cases. The genotype belonged to the Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) lineage and we named it the Southern Africa1 (SAF1) family and later renamed it SAF1/RDRio, also reflecting its predominance in South America. To establish if this family of strains was predominant elsewhere in Southern Africa, genotypes were compared to those from Western Cape, South Africa and Zambia. The SAF1/RDRio strains were highly prevalent in Zambia but were only a minor fraction of the strains in South Africa. The geographical distribution of SAF1/RDRio strains was determined in Gweru, Zimbabwe, and was found to be spread in high incidence areas. From these two studies it was hypothesized that certain host and bacterial factors were associated with disease due to SAF1/RDRio. Subsequently potential risk factors and clinical outcomes of disease due to SAF1/RDRio strains were explored. An association was found with smoking and cavitary pulmonary disease suggesting that SAF1/RDRio caused a more severe and highly transmissible formof TB Using IS6110-RFLP, principal genetic grouping, spoligotyping, IS6110 insertion-site mapping and variable-number tandem repeats (VNTR) typing, low IS6110 copy clade (LCC) identified in Zimbabwe were characterized and compared to the strains from Cape Town, South Africa and other regions. The LCC strains from Cape Town, South Africa, were found to have close evolutionary relationship with strains from Zimbabwe and other regions and were widely distributed suggesting they play an important role in the global TB epidemic. Observations from these studies and those from other studies led to the hypothesis that specific genotypes of M. tuberculosis predominate in regions of Southern Africa. To gain an insight on the population structure of M. tuberculosis strains in Southern Africa, spoligotyping and/or IS6110-RFLP data from eight countries were compared. This is the first study to describe the M. tuberculosis population structure in Southern Africa. Distinct genotypes were associated with specific geographic regions. These findings have important implications for TB diagnostics, anti-TB drug and vaccine development. The population structure of multidrug-resistant (MDR), pre-extensively drug-resistant (pre-XDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) M. tuberculosis isolates from provinces in South Africa was also determined. This is again the first study to describe the population structure of drug-resistant M. tuberculosis in South Africa. The results also showed geographic localization of genotypes and an association with resistance class. However, decreasing strain diversity was observed as the isolates evolved from MDR-TB to XDR-TB suggesting selection for the specific genotypes. These findings highlight the importance of identifying genetic markers in drug-resistant strains, to enhance early detection of those at risk of developing XDR-TB.