Publications by authors named "P Stakenas"
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluates whole-genome sequencing (WGS) as a method for detecting multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in Poland and Lithuania, highlighting its effectiveness compared to traditional drug susceptibility testing (DST).
- Researchers analyzed 208 MTBC strains and found a 5.3% discordance rate among the results from various resistance detection methods, including WGS and molecular assays.
- Key findings indicated that resistance mutations mainly occurred in the rpoB gene, with a consistent MIC distribution for rifampicin, suggesting that WGS can provide reliable insights but may not always align perfectly with conventional techniques.
Spoligotyping is one of the molecular typing methods widely used for exploring the genetic variety of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to compare the spoligoprofiles of M. tuberculosis clinical isolates, obtained using in vitro and in silico approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The epidemiological situation of tuberculosis (TB) in Poland urges for its continuous and scrupulous monitoring. The objective of this study was to explore the genetic diversity of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and drug-susceptible (DS) isolates from Poland with a combination of spoligotyping and high-resolution mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) analysis. The results were placed in the Northern and Eastern Europe context.
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- Generalist and specialist species have different ecological niche widths, and this study focuses on Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4, a major cause of human tuberculosis.
- The analysis reveals a mix of globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages, indicating that some are generalists while others are specialists.
- Most T cell epitopes are conserved across sublineages, but generalists show more variability; the research also suggests that the common generalist sublineage likely originated in Europe.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains of the Beijing lineage are globally distributed and are associated with the massive spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis in Eurasia. Here we reconstructed the biogeographical structure and evolutionary history of this lineage by genetic analysis of 4,987 isolates from 99 countries and whole-genome sequencing of 110 representative isolates. We show that this lineage initially originated in the Far East, from where it radiated worldwide in several waves.
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