A study of tuberculosis cases in the Karonga district of Malawi reveals that the main lineages of M. tuberculosis differ in their transmission patterns and virulence.

The genetic make-up of dominating MDR-TB clades in Central Asia is shaped by programmatic and socio-economic changes that led to fixation of resistance and bacterial fitness related mutations in the Soviet era.

The essential mycobacterial transcription factor RbpA interacts with promoter DNA and cooperates with another essential transcription factor, CarD, to stimulate the formation of an intermediate leading to the open promoter complex.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis penetrates the airway mucosa through M cells via the mycobacterial virulence factor EsxA and the host M cell surface receptor scavenger receptor B1.

A gene associated with Parkinson’s disease regulates mitochondrial homeostasis, thus affecting innate immunity.

William R Bishai, director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (K-RITH), argues that the best place to carry out research into a disease is in its midst.

A better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the growth of mycobacteria could help identify targets for new antibiotics.

Profiling the phenotype of 200,000 mutants revealed a new cofactor that may help a group of rod-shaped bacteria elongate and grow.