This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The complete genome of the tuberculosis bacterium was sequenced and published in 1998. Since then, scientists have deciphered about two-thirds of TB's genes.
A research group led by biochemist Luiz Pedro Carvalho, Ph.D., of The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, has found that one of TB's supposedly "known" genes has a completely unexpected biological role, with far-reaching implications. Under stress, the normally quiet enzyme pops into action like a jack-in-the-box. The group's discovery, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that TB's genome may hold more surprises than previously thought.
The work could affect research on TB antibiotic resistance and new drug development, Carvalho said. The discovery also raises important questions about pathogens that carry similar enzymes, including those that cause leprosy and malaria. What scientists thought we knew about this enzyme is just wrong; it acts in a completely different way," Carvalho said.
"This expands our understanding of microbial metabolism and opens new avenues for targeting metabolic pathways in several pathogenic organisms." Carvalho's team found that the gene, called rv2531c, encodes an enzyme whose job is to transform the abundant amino acid glutamate into another substance called GABA, which bacteria need for metabolism, signaling and defense. Previously, scientists presumed that the enzyme played a role in assembling a group of biological molecules called polyamines, essential to protein building and many other functions. So, if rv2531c doesn't do that, scientists still have a mystery to solve, said Carvalho, a member of the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute.
Globally, TB continues to vex health officials. The germ that causes tuberculosis is wily and can lie dormant for years, waiting for an opportune moment, like illness or stress, to spring to life. That makes containing it nearly impossible.
Treatment typically requires TB patients to take strong antibiotics for six months. Side effects can be serious, and compliance can be difficult, raising the need for more effective and benign drugs. About 11 million people a year become sick with TB, while about 1.25 million people die from it.
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