rpoB
rpoB is a bacterial gene that codes for part of an enzyme which synthesises RNA. Specifically, rpoB is the β subunit of the bacterial RNA polymerase. It is the subunit which possesses the polymerase activity, that is, it catalyzes the synthesis of RNA. Some anti-bacterial drugs (most importantly, rifampicin) kill bacteria by targeting this enzyme.
rpoB is a highly conserved enzyme contained by many bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is the target of the antibiotic, rifampicin. Mutations in this gene are the main mechanism of resistance to rifampicin.[1][2]
A probe for rpoB can detect mutations in the gene that confer rifampicin resistance. For Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the resistance-mutations most commonly found are at codons 531, 526 and 516 (in decreasing order of frequency),[3] in an area known as the "rifampicin resistance determining region".[4] For Staphylococcus aureus, the most commonly identified mutation is at codon 481.[2] Gene probes are commonly used to guide tuberculosis treatment when drug-resistant tuberculosis is suspected.
[edit] References
- ^ Kapur V, Li LL, Iordanescu S, et al. (1994). "Characterization by automated DNA sequencing of mutations in the gene (rpoB) encoding the RNA polymerase beta subunit in rifampin-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from New York City and Texas". J Clin Microbiol 32 (4): 1095–1098. PMC 267194. PMID 8027320. http://jcm.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/32/4/1095.
- ^ a b Wichelhaus TA, Schäfer V, Brade V, Böddinghaus B (1999). "Molecular characterization of rpoB mutations conferring cross-resistance to rifamycins on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus". Antimicrob Agents Chemother 43 (11): 2813–2816.
- ^ Mokrousov, I.; Otten, T.; Vyshnevskiy, B.; Narvskaya, O. (2003). "Allele-Specific rpoB PCR Assays for Detection of Rifampin-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Sputum Smears". Antimicrob Agents Chemother 47 (7): 2231–2235. doi:10.1128/AAC.47.7.2231-2235.2003. PMC 161874. PMID 12821473. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=161874.
- ^ Telenti A, Imboden P, Marchesi F, et al. (1993). "Detection of rifampicin-resistance mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis". Lancet 341 (8846): 647–50. doi:10.1016/0140-6736(93)90417-F. PMID 8095569.
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