Transcript Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
J. Seo F2013
Modified by DYH
• Discovered by a German scientist Robert
Koch on March 24, 1882
• Acid-fast Gram-positive rod-shaped
bacteria
•Actinobacteria; Actinobacteria
•Genome comprised of 3959 genes with 4
million base pairs
•250 genes are for metabolism of fatty acid
•39 of them are involved in generating the
waxy coat
http://www.nathnac.org/ds/c_pages/documents/TB_risk_areas.gif
•Causes Tuberculosis in humans, turtles,
frogs, birds, fish, and cattle
•Contagious bacterial infection that can
spread through air
•Can be in either active or latent form of
tuberculosis
http://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/20040615/d094324845a24eb3a7bf
e0d1f8e4a637/5789_lores.jpg
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
J. Seo F2013
Modified by DYH
• Major virulence factor is the high lipid
content in the cell membrane with its
waxy coat
• Can live through weak disinfectant
• Able to live under a dry state for several
weeks
•Waxy coat protects it from lysosomal
enzymes when engulfed by a macrophage
•Invades mainly through respiratory tract
into the lung
•Common symptoms are nightly sweats,
coughing of blood, fever, fatigue, and loss
of appetite.
•Multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium
tuberculosis needs to be treated with
multiple drugs consistently.
http://www.public.asu.edu/~shaydel/research_001tb_2.html