Objective: To study and preliminarily evaluate the standard spacer oligonucleotide typing (Spoligotyping) method and the application on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis).
Methods: Spoligotyping on 224 M. tuberculosis strains was studied by the molecular biological techniques, including DNA isolation, PCR, reverse line blot hybridization, together with data analysis software BioNumerics (Version 5.0).
Results: Standardization on both Spoligotyping method and parameters in result analysis and the usage of the analysis software were studied. Through this method, 224 M. tuberculosis clinical strains were classified into 2 clusters including 129 Beijing family strains and 95 non-Beijing family strains. The predominant strains belonged to Beijing family.
Conclusion: Standard Spoligotyping method was preliminary determined in China, showing that it was a simple, rapid, and robust method for simultaneous detection and typing of M. tuberculosis. This method can be used for tracing the source of infection and understanding the epidemic trend of M. tuberculosis. Spoligotyping can also be served as a method for simultaneous detection and typing of M. tuberculosis, and to identify Beijing family strains.