A novel chemogenomic discovery platform identifies bioactive hits with rapid bactericidal activity against Mycobacteroides Abscessus.

Mycobacteroides abscessus (M. ab) infections are innately resistant to most currently available antibiotics and present a growing, poorly addressed medical need. The existing treatment regimens are lengthy and produce inadequate outcomes for many patients.

An ultrasensitive and specific point-of-care CRISPR/Cas12 based lateral flow biosensor for the rapid detection of nucleic acids.

CRISPR/Cas systems have displayed remarkable potential in developing novel biosensing applications for nucleic acid detection owing to the collateral cleavage activity of Cas effector proteins (Cas12, Cas13, etc.). Despite tremendous progress in recent years, the existing CRISPR/Cas based biosensing platforms have several limitations, including reliance on proper amplification methods, expensive fluorescence detection equipment, or lateral flow biosensor (LFB).

Quinoline Derivatives Kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Activating Glutamate Kinase.

There is a great need for identification and development of new anti-tuberculosis drugs with novel targets. Recent drug-discovery efforts typically focus on identifying inhibitors but not activators that perturb metabolic enzymes' functions as a means to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Here, we describe a class of quinoline compounds, Z0933/Z0930, which kill Mtb by acting as activators of glutamate kinase (GK), a previously untargeted enzyme catalyzing the first step of proline biosynthesis.

The compound TB47 is highly bactericidal against Mycobacterium ulcerans in a Buruli ulcer mouse model.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is an emerging infectious disease that causes disfiguring skin ulcers. The causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, secretes toxin called mycolactone that triggers inflammation and immunopathology. Existing treatments are lengthy and consist of drugs developed for tuberculosis.

Mutation EthA confers co-resistance to prothionamide and ethionamide in both BCG and H37Rv.

Ethionamide (ETA) and prothionamide (PRO) are interchangeably used in tuberculosis (TB) chemotherapy regimens. Subtle discrepancies between biochemical and genetic information on the modes of sensitivity and resistance of isoniazid (INH) and ETA warrants further studies. We report a new mutation - EthA - in Bacillus Calmette-Guérin that corresponds with co-resistance to both PRO and ETA, which to the best of our knowledge has not been reported before.

A Cassette Containing Thiostrepton, Gentamicin Resistance Genes, and sequences Is Effective in Construction of Recombinant Mycobacteria.

The genetic manipulation of genome is limited by the availability of selection markers. Spontaneous resistance mutation rate of to the widely used kanamycin is relatively high which often leads to some false positive transformants. Due to the few available markers, we have created a cassette containing thiostrepton resistance gene () for selection in and BCG, and gentamicin resistance gene () for and mc155, flanked with sequences recognized by the Xer system of mycobacteria.

Sequence analysis for detection of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates from the Central Region of Cameroon.

Background: The potential of genetic testing to rapidly diagnose drug resistance has lead to the development of new diagnostic assays. However, prior to implementation in a given setting, the association of specific mutations with specific drug resistance phenotypes should be evaluated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate molecular markers in predicting drug resistance in the Central Region of Cameroon.