"...unexpected complexity in the modern evolution of drug-resistant tuberculosis..."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24071843

Nat Genet. 2013 Sep 26;45(10):1107-8. doi: 10.1038/ng.2769.

Complex genetics of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Warner DF, Mizrahi V.

Source

Medical Research Council (MRC)-National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS)-University of Cape Town Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit and Department of Science and Technology (DST)-National Research Foundation (NRF) Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, and the Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa.

Abstract

Three new studies have used whole-genome sequencing of M. tuberculosis to demonstrate unexpected complexity in the modern evolution of drug-resistant tuberculosis, and a fourth study suggests a close evolutionary relationship between the pathogen and its human host over a period of 70,000 years. Collectively, the observations in these studies suggest that future strategies to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis must integrate host genetics with detailed strain epidemiology.