Dr Thomas Dick, Amanda Lim, Calvin Boon, Angeline Toh, Hock Leng Peh and Bernadette Murugasu-Oei Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology. Singapore A key problem in tuberculosis control is the persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis despite prolonged chemotherapy.
Mycobacteria are obligate aerobes, i.e. the bacilli require oxygen for growth.
However, tubercle bacilli encounter hypoxic environments in vivo. Upon depletion of oxygen in culture the bacilli terminate growth and develop into a defined non-replicating or dormant form. Importantly, the dormant form of the bacteria was found to be resistant against the standard anti-mycobacterials. The development of drugs that kill dormant bacilli might have a profound impact on tuberculosis therapy. Our interest is in the molecular mechanisms of dormancy with a view on the identification of dormancy-specific targets and leads.