Congratulations to Htin Aung, who recently completed his PhD in Greg Cook's Lab.
Title: CRP is a global regulator of carbon catabolism and energy metabolism in Mycobacterium smegmatis
Tuberculosis has killed more people than any other infectious disease in history. Drug resistance and the HIV pandemic have kept the incidence of tuberculosis at high levels and the emergence and rapid spread of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pose a serious threat to the effectiveness of tuberculosis treatment worldwide. No new drug for TB has been licensed in 40 years, but recent research has shown that the energy-generating machinery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the power-plant of the cell, represents a new target for drug development. The regulatory proteins controlling the expression of this energetic machinery is poorly understood. In the present study, we have identified cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) as a key regulatory of key enzymes involved in mycobacterial energy generation. CRP was essential for mycobacterial growth and is unique to bacteria (not found in humans) suggesting it is a highly attractive target for tuberculosis drug development.
