Molecular Biology and Human Genetics

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Browsing Molecular Biology and Human Genetics by Subject "Affinity-tagged fluorescent reporter mycobacteriophage"

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    The development of a novel fluorescentmarker phage technology system for the early diagnosis of tuberculosis disease
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-12) Van der Merwe, Ruben Gerhard; Gey van Pittius, Nicolaas Claudius; Warren, Robin Mark; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Biomedical Sciences.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative organism of tuberculosis (TB), is a major cause for mortality and morbidity world-wide with a death toll only second to HIV among infectious diseases. Drug resistance is widespread and cases of multiple drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) have emerged in several countries. Drug treatment is problematic and new drugs are not developed rapidly enough to offset the rapid drug resistance mutation rate of M. tuberculosis. Simple and effective diagnostics are required to contain the spread of the disease as current routine diagnostics are not fulfilling this role. Additionally, current rapid TB diagnostics are out of reach to resource poor settings due to infrastructure, cost and skill requirements. Novel TB diagnostics are thus required that meet these requirements. Mycobacteriophages are phages that infect mycobacteria and could offer a viable and cost effective alternative rapid TB diagnostics. In this study, an affinity-tagged fluorescent reporter mycobacteriophage is described, which was engineered to act as a TB diagnostic. Its performance proved favourable and superior to current existing mycobacteriophage-based TB diagnostics.