6533b83afe1ef96bd12a7025
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Towards next generation diagnostics for tuberculosis: identification of novel molecular targets by large-scale comparative genomics
Iñaki ComasAna Gil-brusolaRafael BorrásManuela Torres-puenteGalo A. GoigÁLvaro Chiner-omsCarla Mariner LlicerLuis M Villamayorsubject
Comparative genomics0303 health sciencesTuberculosis030306 microbiologyGenomic dataDiagnostic markerComputational biologyBiologybiology.organism_classificationmedicine.disease3. Good health03 medical and health sciencesMycobacterium tuberculosis complexTuberculosis diagnosticsMolecular targetsmedicineIdentification (biology)030304 developmental biologydescription
AbstractTuberculosis remains one of the main causes of death worldwide. The long and cumbersome process of culturingMycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex (MTBC) bacteria has encouraged the development of specific molecular tools for detecting the pathogen. Most of these tools aim to become novel tuberculosis diagnostics, and big efforts and resources are invested in their development, looking for the endorsement of the main public health agencies. Surprisingly, no study had been conducted where the vast amount of genomic data available is used to identify the best MTBC diagnostic markers. In this work, we use large-scale comparative genomics to provide a catalog of 30 characterized loci that are unique to the MTBC. Some of these genes could be targeted to assess the physiological status of the bacilli. Remarkably, none of the conventional MTBC markers is in our catalog. In addition, we develop a qPCR assay to accurately quantify MTBC DNA in clinical samples.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-03-06 |