Whole-cell protein electrophoresis for typing Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A method of discriminating between strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of whole-cell proteins combined with a sensitive silver stain is described. Thirty-five isolates of M. tuberculosis and five isolates from other species of Mycobacterium were examined, including serial isolates from the same patients and isolates from a small cluster of hospital cases. Different species of Mycobacterium were clearly distinguished, and within the species M. tuberculosis, different fingerprints were obtained, allowing discrimination of some strains from different patients. The reproducibility and discrimination of the technique are discussed.