Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2025
09:00
Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance
Published on: May 2, 2018
11.6K
Understanding Mycobacterium tuberculosis through its genomic diversity and evolution.
Mollie I Sweeney1, Carson E Carranza1, David M Tobin1,2
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Plos Pathogens
|February 28, 2025
Summary
Analyzing Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomes reveals how this pathogen evolves. Understanding its genomic diversity offers insights into tuberculosis pathogenesis and transmission dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) is a leading cause of infectious disease, co-evolving with humans for millennia.
- Host immune pressures and therapies significantly influence pathogen evolution and genomic diversity.
- Advances in whole genome sequencing paired with clinical data offer new avenues to study M. tuberculosis strain diversity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review mechanistic findings from integrated genomic, evolutionary, and functional analyses of M. tuberculosis.
- To elucidate bacterial adaptations driving pathogenesis and transmission.
- To enhance understanding of host-pathogen interactions in tuberculosis.
Main Methods:
- Whole genome sequencing of diverse M. tuberculosis strains.
- Evolutionary analysis of genomic data.
- Functional dissection of specific bacterial variants.
- Integration of clinical data with genomic information.
Main Results:
- Identification of secreted effectors that alter macrophage behavior.
- Characterization of genetic alterations enabling survival in hypoxic environments.
- Insights into bacterial adaptations to the human host.
Conclusions:
- Genomic and evolutionary analyses are crucial for understanding M. tuberculosis adaptations.
- Studying M. tuberculosis diversity deepens our knowledge of TB disease biology.
- This approach will inform our understanding of the host immune response to tuberculosis.
Related Concept Videos
02:54Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
5.7K
Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...
5.7K
00:46Genomic DNA in Prokaryotes
43.3K
The genome of most prokaryotic organisms consists of double-stranded DNA organized into one circular chromosome in a region of cytoplasm called the nucleoid. The chromosome is tightly wound, or supercoiled, for efficient storage. Prokaryotes also contain other circular pieces of DNA called plasmids. These plasmids are smaller than the chromosome and often carry genes that confer adaptive functions, such as antibiotic resistance.
Genomic Diversity in Bacteria
Although bacterial genomes are much...
Genomic Diversity in Bacteria
Although bacterial genomes are much...
43.3K
02:05Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
7.0K
The genomes of eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of sequence which do not code for proteins or RNAs. Although some of these regions do contain crucial regulatory sequences, the vast majority of this DNA serves no known function. Typically, these regions of the genome are the ones in which the fastest change, in evolutionary terms, is observed, because there is typically little to no selection pressure acting on these regions to preserve their sequences.
In contrast, regions which code...
In contrast, regions which code...
7.0K
03:21Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
7.8K
While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.
7.8K
02:37Gene Duplication and Divergence
6.0K
The seminal work of Ohno in 1970 popularized the idea of gene duplication and divergence. DNA sequence comparison studies reveal that a large portion of the genes in bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes was generated by gene duplication and divergence, indicating its critical role in evolution.
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...
6.0K
02:31Synteny and Evolution
3.2K
John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...
3.2K