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1998: M. Tuberculosis Bacterium Sequenced

The complete genome sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was published in June 1998. M. tuberculosis is the bacterium that causes the chronic infectious disease tuberculosis. Although treatments for tuberculosis are available, the incidence of this disease is increasing throughout the world, and strains that are resistant to antibiotics are becoming more prevalent. The World Health Organization considers tuberculosis a global emergency. The complete sequence of the approximately 4,400,000-base-pair Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome is expected to help scientists develop better therapies, ranging from treatments for the illness to vaccines to prevent it.

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Reference:

Cole, S.T., Brosch, R., Parkhill, J., Garnier, T., Churcher, C., Harris, D., Gordon, S.V., et al. Deciphering the biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the complete genome sequence. Nature, 393: 537-44. 1998. [Full Text]

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Last Updated: April 14, 2008