Genetic diversity assessment of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates of patients with tuberculosis in Karaj, Iran

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an old issue that is presently measured as a significant challenge. Molecular characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has contributed to TB control. The present survey was aimed to assess the genetic diversity of M. tuberculosis strains isolated from patients with TB in Karaj, Iran. Methods Seventeen M. tuberculosis isolates from 2012 to 2013 were collected and subjected to an IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (IS6110-RFLP) analysis. Demographically, 6 females and 14 males who had Iranian citizenship were included in this study. Results Sixteen different genetic types were obtained after enzymatic digestion and RFL analysis. Copy numbers of IS6110 in each isolate ranged from 0 to 12. The majority of isolates (66%) harbored copy numbers between 6 and 12. Each isolates harbored 6.9 copies of the IS6110 marker. Nine isolates harbored 10 to 12 copies of the IS6110 marker, 5 isolates harbored 6 to 10 copies, and 2 others harbored copies less than 6. No copy of IS6110 was found among the 4 isolates. No relationship was found between gender and copy numbers. Conclusions The high genetic diversity found amongst the M. tuberculosis isolates maybe show different sources of infection and the importance of reemerging of the TB. However, further surveys should perform to assess other molecular epidemiologic aspects of M. tuberculosis in Iran.