Computational analyses of drug resistance mutations in katG and emb complexes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The number of antibiotic resistant pathogens is increasing rapidly, and with this comes a substantial socioeconomic cost that threatens much of the world. To alleviate this problem, we must use antibiotics in a more responsible and informed way, further our understanding of the molecular basis of drug resistance, and design new antibiotics. Here, we focus on a key drug-resistant pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and computationally analyze trends in drug-resistant mutations in genes of the proteins embA, embB, embC, and katG, which play essential roles in the action of the first-line drugs ethambutol and isoniazid.