New genetic approaches shed light on TB virulence.
Although tuberculosis has been studied for more than a century, insights into the molecular mechanisms by which it causes disease remain fairly limited. The current genetic boom in this system promises to reveal new virulence mechanisms, making this an exciting time to be studying this disease. Long considered a technical "poor relation", tuberculosis research has developed into a source for creative techniques and ideas. In the midst of this development, it is important to keep in mind the limitations of each new approach that is employed to study this organism. This review examines the genetic approaches that are currently being used to study tuberculosis, with an emphasis on new developments that promise to improve our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Jeffrey P
JP
Murry
Eric J
EJ
Rubin
D000818:Animals; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D012329:RNA, Bacterial