Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a slow-growing, acid-fast bacterium that causes tuberculosis, primarily in humans. It can persist inside host cells and may remain latent for years.

Mycolic acid: A long-chain fatty acid that forms a major part of the distinctive outer envelope of mycobacteria. Mycolic acids make the bacterium’s envelope waxy, help it resist chemical damage, and enable acid-fast staining.
Tuberculosis diagnosis: The use of clinical assessment, imaging, and laboratory tests to identify tuberculosis disease or infection. Culture and molecular tests identify M. tuberculosis and guide decisions about treatment and isolation.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex evolution: The evolutionary history and diversification of the closely related species that cause tuberculosis. Comparative genomes trace M. tuberculosis lineages and their relationships to animal-adapted relatives.
Pulmonary tuberculosis: Tuberculosis affecting the lungs, the most common form of active disease and a major route of transmission. Pulmonary infection is the main source of airborne M. tuberculosis transmission between people.
Acid-fastness: The ability of certain bacteria to retain a primary stain despite treatment with acid-alcohol decolorizer. Its lipid-rich envelope gives M. tuberculosis the staining behavior used to identify it in specimens.
GeneXpert MTB/RIF: A rapid molecular test that detects M. tuberculosis DNA and mutations associated with rifampicin resistance. It can identify tuberculosis and a major form of drug resistance directly from clinical samples.
Tuberculosis in ancient DNA: The study of tuberculosis-complex DNA recovered from archaeological human and animal remains. Ancient genomes reveal the pathogen’s presence and changing lineages across human history.
Extrapulmonary tuberculosis: Tuberculosis affecting organs or tissues outside the lungs, including lymph nodes, bones, and the central nervous system. M. tuberculosis can spread beyond the lungs and cause disease in many parts of the body.
Macrophage: An immune cell that engulfs microbes and debris and helps coordinate inflammation. M. tuberculosis survives and replicates within macrophages that would ordinarily digest engulfed bacteria.
Drug-resistant tuberculosis: Tuberculosis caused by bacteria resistant to one or more anti-tuberculosis drugs. Mutations in M. tuberculosis can undermine standard regimens and require longer, more complex treatment.

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