Role of whiB6 and kdpDE in the successful multidrug-resistant clone Mycobacterium tuberculosis B0/W148 [kdpDE_RNA-seq]

Among the multidrug-resistant (MDR) clones of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) that were epidemiologically particularly successful, the 100-32 MDR Beijing clone, also called B0/W148 clone, has emerged since the early sixties. These B0/W148 strains belonging to the lineage 2 within the global Mtb phylogeny, are the main contributors to the MDR epidemic in Russia and Eastern Europe, and since the USSR’s fall, have also propagated to Western Europe. Among the various mutations that were identified as being specific for the MDR B0/W148 clone, we focused on two found in the transcriptional regulators KdpDE and WhiB6 and characterized in a H37Rv strain background the transcriptional profile associated with these mutations and their potential impact on the in vitro and in vivo growth characteristics. Gene expression profiling by RNA-seq of the effect induced by the 2-nucleotide deletion in kdpDE of M. tuberculosis H37Rv cultured with and without potassium.