MIRU-VNTR profiles of three major Mycobacterium tuberculosis spoligotypes found in western India

The 12 loci MIRU-VNTR was used to provide greater discrimination than spoligotyping, but 6 of the 12 loci provided less than 50% discriminatory power. The highest discrimination was achieved using locus 26 (80%). Our results concur with recent reports that the most discriminatory MIRU-VNTR combination varied across different lineages. The results also highlight the need for more robust genetic markers for studying the transmission of Mtb in endemic regions like India.