The role of RNase J in drug resistance in mycobacteria

MARTINI MARÍA CARLA; HICKS NATHAN; ZHAO YANLIN; YANG JIAN; FORTUNE SARAH; SHELL SCARLET

South Hadley, MA

Conferencia; Microbial Stress Response; 2018

Gordon Research Conference

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of global concern caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB strains has become a major health challenge worldwide. Drug resistance in MTB is mainly attributed to mutations in the genes encoding drug targets or enzymes required for drug activation. However, recent studies have reported that a percentage of MDR isolates contain mutations in other genes in addition to the expected target and activator mutations(1). These findings suggest that other players could be involved in the development of drug resistance. Among these genes is Rv2752c, encoding RNase J, a ribonuclease that is not essential for mycobacterial growth. Mutations in Rv2752c were reported to be associated with drug resistance in a collection of MTB clinical isolates