---

Mycobacterial diseases are among the oldest disease known to human beings. There are a lot of bitter memories of Mycobacterial invasion especially Tuberculosis and leprosy in human mind, even now after discovery of etiology, diagnostic tool, prevention, and treatment, still, the recalling the above diseases are frightening to human being. Although leprosy isn’t an serious disease nowadays but the TB after a long period of quietness, is going to be an serious risk factor for mankind, especially in third world countries, after cooperating with HIV. Some atypical Mycobacteria, which have weak pathogenicity now, adapt themselves to the new condition and present as a dangerous cause of disease. The researcher that have made themselves familiar with such Mycobacterial features, trying hard to discus carefully the specifities and weak points of these bacteria, to fight them back. The aim of this review article is to highlight one of Mycobacterial characteristic, which is bacteruosis slow growth rate.

---

Background and Objective: Tuberculosis is one of the major problem facing of globle health. Drug resistance of mycobacterium tuberculosis to antimicrobial agent has strongly emerged the need for achiving the new drugs. Garlic as medical plants has long been taken under investigation. This study for antibacterial effect was done to determine the morphological alteration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis due to garlic choloformic extract. Garlic extract contains allicine (thio-2-propen-sulfonic acid-s-allil ester) is one of its effective antimicrobacterial substance. Materials and Methods: In a in-vitro study, the standard strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37RV and clinical isolated strain was cultured in the middle broke 7H9 broth with different concentration of garlic extract in different 12, 24, 48, 72 hours. Morphological althertits of mycobacterium inspected with macroscopic and microscopic studies. Results: The garlic exteract caused conversion of rough colonies to smooth and mucoid colonies and in microscopic studies morphologic change of mycobacterium from bacilli form to coccobacilli and cocci was observed. Also 0.67 mg/ml of garlic exteract on 48h period inhibited both of sensitive (standard strain of H37RV) and resistance (clinical strains) Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Conclusion: This study showed that garlic extract in addition to inhibiting growth, change the morphology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from baccilli to cocoibaccill form and also alter the colony apearance from rough to smooth shap.

---

Background and Objective: MIRU-VNTR typing is currently one of the most frequently-used standardized genotyping systems in molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in the world. This sudy was done to determine the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotyping by MIRU-VNTR method. Methods: This descriptive study was done on sputum, gastric lavage clinical specimens of 53 tuberculosis suspected patients. Fifty-three isolates were identified by 16S rRNA and Rv-typing followed by RD typing. They were then subjected to a 12-locus (ETRA, ETRB, ETRC, ETRD, ETRE and ETRF, MIRU-10, MIRU-26, MIRU-39, MIRU-30 plus QUB-11b) MIRU-VNTR typing system. Results: In MIRU-VNTR typing, forty-four types were identified with 13 isolates classified in 4 clustered and the remaining 40 isolates representing 40 orphan patterns. In comparative analysis of MIRU-VNTR loci, MIRU-26 with 7 alleles displayed the highest diversity level (Simpson’s diversity index = 0.767. Out of the 53 isolates, only one was identified as Mycobacterium bovis. All the remaining isolates were characterized as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. None of the samples was affected to Mycobacterium complex strain. No evidence of either double or co-infection of the patients with more than one species/strain was detected. Conclusion: While the genomic diversity observed by MIRU-VNTR typing sounds extensive, the population genomic structure on the whole however, seems to be homogenous. Recent transmission between studied patients does not appear to be a frequent event as only 13 isolates representing 4 MIRU-VNTR types, were assumingly epidemic.

---

Background and Objective: The emergence of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and especially drug resistant strains has created problems for the treatment of tuberculosis control, worldwide. This study was performed to evaluate the changes in N-acetyltransferase (NAT) pattern of methylsonone in patients who did not respond to first-line treatment for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 200 patients with tuberculosis. After preparing the blood sample, saturated salt method was used to extract DNA. For the determination of quantity and quality of DNA, two methods of spectrophotometry and electrophoresis on agarose gel were used. The methylation pattern of NAT1 gene was investigated by HRM method.
Results: 34 patients were resistant to the first line of treatment. 18 patients showed hypermethylation pattern, 12 patients showed non-methylated pattern and 4 patients showed hypomethylated pattern. 166 patients were not resistant to the first line, of which 23 patients in hypermethylated group, 120 patients in group Non-methylated and 23 patients were in the hypomethylated row. There was a statistically significant relationship between methylation level and drug resistance (P<0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed that resistance to first-line treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was related to the level of N-acetyltransferase gene methylation.