AmpliBASE MT™: A Mycobacterium tuberculosis diversity knowledgebase

Abstract

Summary: AmpliBASE MT™ is an online databank of high-resolution DNA fingerprints representing fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) profiles or amplitypes developed for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains from 48 different countries. AmpliBASE MT™ is based on a relational database management system that is hyperlinked to visualize genotyping results in the form of DNA fingerprint images for individual strains. A flexible search system based on systematic comparisons of fragment sizes in base pairs allows inter-laboratory comparison of FAFLP profiles. Besides this, the database also displays previously published data on IS6110 profiles, spoligotypes, MIRU-VNTRs and large sequence polymorphisms along with the FAFLP records that will give the overall comparisons. Being the first of its kind, AmpliBASE MT™ is expected to be a very helpful tool in strengthening the concept of'geographic genomics'and will be very helpful to molecular epidemiologists and those interested in diagnostic development for tuberculosis. © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved.