MTGenomeDB is a comprehensive database containing DNA and protein sequence, cellular role, protein family, and taxonomic data for five Mycobacterium strains (M. tuberculosis H37Rv, M. tuberculosis CDC1551, M. bovis, M. avium and M. Leprae).

All the Mycobacterium proteins are divided on the basis of various functional categories. The Main functional categories are:

·           Small molecule metabolism

·           Macromolecule metabolism

·           Cell processes

·           Conserved hypothetical

·           Unknown

·           Other

Each functional category is further sub-divided into sub categories.

One can use MTGenomeDB for retrieving:

·           function of a protein and its DNA and protein sequence

·           proteins according to functional categories.

·            proteins common or distinct in five Mycobacterium strains.

·            potential virulence factors in Mycobacterium genome.

Facility is provided for keyword search and one can further refine the results using advanced search option.

Mycobacterium. This genus comprises a number of Gram-positive, acid-fast, rod-shaped aerobic bacteria and is the only member of the family Mycobacteriaceae within the order Actinomycetales. Like other closely related Actinomycetales, such as Nocardia and Corynebacterium, Mycobacteria have unusually high genomic DNA GC content and are capable of producing mycolic acids as major components of their cell wall.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium is the causative agent of tuberculosis - a chronic infectious disease with a growing incidence worldwide. This species is responsible for more morbidity in humans than any other bacterial disease. It infects 1.7 billion people a year (~33% of the entire world population) and causes over 3 million deaths/year. This bacterium does not form a polysaccharide capsule, and is an extremely slow growing obligate aerobe. The sluggish growth rate is a result of the tough cell wall that resists the passage of nutrients into the cell and inhibits waste products to be excreted out of the cell. The specialized cell envelope of this organism resembles a modified Gram positive cell wall. The envelope contains the typical polypeptide layer, the peptidoglycan layer, and free lipids. It also contains complex fatty acids, such as mycolic acids, that cause the waxy appearance and impermeability of the envelope. These acids are found bound to the cell envelope, but also form cord factors when linked with a carbohydrate component to form a cord-like structure. These fatty acid-carbohydrate complexes inhibit phago-lysosome fusion and are often considered to be indicators of virulent strains. The cell envelope also includes adhesins and aggressions, but does not contain any known toxins. Primary infection occurs by inhalation of the organism in droplets that are aerosolized by an infected person. The organism initially replicates in cells of the terminal airways, after which it is taken up by, and replicates in, alveolar macrophages. Macrophages distribute the organism to other areas of the lungs and the regional lymph nodes. Once a cell-mediated hypersensitivity immune response develops, replication of the organism decreases and the bacteria become restricted to developing granulomas.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. This organism is a slowly growing species, with doubling times of around 22-24 hours. One of the important diagnostic features of this bacterium is that its growth in laboratory settings depends on the presence of mycobactin J, a natural siderophore. This bacterium is not common in the environment, and is predominantly found as an intracellular parasite. It causes a chronic granulomatous enteritis termed Johne's disease or paratuberculosis. The desease affects domestic and free-ranging ruminants, but has also been reported in primates, rabbits, stoats and foxes. The usually fatal disease is characterized by weight loss and diarrhea, after a long pre-clinical phase. Treatment is ineffective and economically impracticable. Paratuberculosis in domestic livestock entails significant economic losses in the dairy industry totaling $1.5 billion annually. Several reports suggest a role for this organism in the etiology of Crohn's disease, a severe inflammatory bowel disease in humans.

Mycobacterium bovis. This bacterium is the causative agent of classic bovine tuberculosis, but it can also cause the disease in humans, especially if contaminated milk is consumed without prior pasteurization. The Mycobacterium boviscomplex is a diverse group of species, serovars and morphotypes that cause tuberculosis-like diseases in animals and humans. Pasteurization of milk is a major preventitive factor in transmission of bovine tuberculosis to humans. However, spreading the disease through milk and dairy products is still a concern in underdeveloped countries where pasteurization is not practiced. The pathology in cows is similar to the pathology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in humans, with pulmonary TB leading to chronic debilitation, coughing, and further systemic spread to other organs. In addition, 1 to 2% of infected cows develop mycobacterial mastitis that results in shedding of the bacteria into the milk.

Mycobacterium leprae. This species is the causative agent of leprosy or Hanson's disease which was named after Gerhard Armauer Hansen, the Norwegian physician who discovered the bacterium in 1873. The precise mode of transmission of the disease is not fully understood but, like tuberculosis, the infection is thought to be spread by the respiratory route because lepromatous patients harbour bacilli in their nasal passages. M. leprae has a thick, waxy coating that necessitates staining with carbol-fuchsin instead of the the traditional Gram staining for determinative purposes. This bacterium has the longest doubling time of all known bacteria (14 days) and has thwarted every effort at culture in the laboratory.