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Evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

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The New Paradigm of Immunity to Tuberculosis

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 783))

Abstract

Genomic studies have provided a refined understanding of the genetic diversity within the Mycobacterium genus, and more specifically within Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These results have informed a new perspective on the macro- and micro-evolution of the tubercle bacillus. In the first step, a M. kansasii-like opportunistic pathogen acquired new genes, through horizontal gene transfer, that enabled it to better exploit an intracellular niche and ultimately evolve into a professional pathogen. In the second step, different subspecies and strains of the M. tuberculosis complex emerged through mutation and deletion of unnecessary DNA. Understanding the differences between M. tuberculosis and related less pathogenic mycobacteria is expected to reveal key bacterial virulence mechanisms and provide opportunities to understand host resistance to mycobacterial infection. Understanding differences within the M. tuberculosis complex and the evolutionary forces shaping these differences is important for investigating the basis of its success as both a symbiont and a pathogen.

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Abbreviations

TB:

Tuberculosis

BCG:

Bacille de Calmette et Guérin

NTM:

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria

RD:

Region of difference, representing a locus of the bacterial genome that is absent from a closely related species, as in RD1, RD2, etc.

SNP:

Single nucleotide polymorphism

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Acknowledgments

MB is supported by a William Dawson Scholar Award of McGill University and a Chercheur Boursier National Award from the Fonds de la Recherche en Sante du Quebec. Work in his laboratory is supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Room A5.156, Montreal, H3G 1A4, Canada

    Marcel A. Behr

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  1. Marcel A. Behr
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Correspondence to Marcel A. Behr .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. McGill University, Montreal, H2X 2P2, Québec, Canada

    Maziar Divangahi

Glossary

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex: A bacterial species that comprises M. tuberculosis sensu stricto

M. bovis and other related agents of tuberculosis in their respective mammalian hosts

Bacille de Calmette et Guérin (BCG) vaccine: A family of attenuated strains of M. bovis

originally derived by serial passage of virulent M. bovis in the laboratory between 1908 and 1921. Named for the scientists who developed this vaccine

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Behr, M.A. (2013). Evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis . In: Divangahi, M. (eds) The New Paradigm of Immunity to Tuberculosis. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 783. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6111-1_4

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