Open AccessAnalysis of isoniazid‐resistant transposon mutants of Mycobacterium smegmatis
Author(s) -
BillmanJacobe Helen,
Sloan Joan,
Coppel Ross L.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1996.tb08507.x
Subject(s) - mycobacterium smegmatis , isoniazid , mutant , mycobacterium tuberculosis , mutagenesis , transposable element , transposon mutagenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , mycobacterium , mutation , genetics , drug resistance , gene , tuberculosis , bacteria , medicine , pathology
The emergence of multidrug‐resistant tuberculosis has renewed interest in the study of drug resistance in mycobacteria with the objective of improved chemotherapy. The genetic basis of isoniazid resistance in a model mycobacterium was studied. Eleven isoniazid‐resistant mutants of Mycobacterium smegmatis were created using transposon mutagenesis. Genetic and enzymatic characterisation of the mutants showed that katG , encoding T‐catalase, was inactivated. The nucleotide sequence of M. smegmatis katG was determined and the mutation sites mapped demonstrating that both the amino and carboxyl halves of T‐catalase are important for enzymatic activity.