What we can learn from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome sequencing projects

A major milestone in tuberculosis research occurred in June 1998 with the r eport of the genomic sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The comp lete determination of the 4411529 base pairs of the M. tuberculosis genome opens avenues for new scientific opportunities in basic science and clinica l research on tuberculosis. In this paper me mill review the findings prese nted by the complete genome and discuss the impact that this sequence will have on the areas of comparative genomics, bacterial pathogenesis, and diag nostics development for tuberculosis. Indirect benefits of the complete gen ome sequence are anticipated in the areas of drug development and vaccine d evelopment as future discoveries in bacterial pathogenesis and immunology a ccrue.