Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

Modeling Tuberculosis in Mycobacterium marinum Infected Adult Zebrafish
Published on: October 8, 2018
Strain diversity, epistasis and the evolution of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
1Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Basel, Switzerland University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Mycobacterium tuberculosis harbours little DNA sequence diversity compared with other bacteria. However, there is mounting evidence that strain-to-strain variation in this organism has been underestimated. We review our current understanding of the genetic diversity among M. tuberculosis clinical strains and discuss the relevance of this diversity for the ongoing global epidemics of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Based on findings in other bacteria, we propose that epistatic interactions between pre-existing differences in strain genetic background, acquired drug-resistance-conferring mutations and compensatory changes could play a role in the emergence and spread of drug-resistant M. tuberculosis.
Related Concept Videos
Development of Antibiotic Resistance
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes
Mechanism of Antibiotic Resistance in MRSA
Evolutionary Processes in Microbes
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Clinical Significance of Antibiotic Resistance
