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Microbiology Society, Journal of Medical Microbiology, 5(35), p. 284-290, 1991

DOI: 10.1099/00222615-35-5-284

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The 16Sribosomal RNA of Mycobacterium leprae contains a unique sequence which can be used for identification by the polymerase chain reaction

Journal article published in 1991 by R. A. Cox, K. Kempsell ORCID, L. Fairclough, M. J. Colston
This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

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Abstract

Nucleotide sequence data for bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA was used to identify oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers suitable for probing the rRNA gene of mycobacteria and related organisms, with the polymerase chain reaction. The method enabled us to distinguish mycobacteria from other closely related genera, and to differentiate between slow- and fast-growing mycobacteria. Mycobacterium leprae fell within the slow-growing group of mycobacteria but there are significant differences between the sequence of the M. leprae 16S rRNA gene and that of other slow-growing mycobacteria. These differences were used to devise a rapid, non-radioactive method for detecting M. leprae in infected tissue.