MYCOBACTERIAL GENOME STRUCTURE

Genome maps have been constructed for the mycobacterial pathogens Myco bacterium leprae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as for the at tenuated vaccine strain Mycobacterium bovis BCG Pasteur. While the chr omosomes of M. tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG Pasteur show extensive co nservation at the grosslevel, comparison with M. leprae revealed a hig h degree of diversification, with a mosaic-like pattern apparent. The ordered libraries of M. tuberculosis and M. leprae produced during the course of these studies played a central role in the genome sequencin g projects of these two bacilli, showing the utility of this approach for systematic sequencing of bacterial genomes.