Date Presented

Spring 5-18-2024

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Dr. Christine Terry

Second Advisor

Dr. Price Blair

Third Advisor

Mr. Stephen Burris

Abstract

Infection, a ubiquitous biological phenomenon, involves the invasion and multiplication of pathogens within a host organism, instigating a complex interplay between the infectious agent and the host's immune defenses. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a bacterium that is naturally found in soil and water; however it also infects humans and can survive without detection by the host’s immune system (Chai et. al 2018). The profound impact of tuberculosis infection on history is reflected in its continued prevalence as a major global health threat. Despite advancements in healthcare, the persistence of tuberculosis infections continues to pose significant challenges worldwide. Mycobacterium tuberculosis G-12-005 gene sequences were analyzed using various bioinformatic tools to determine their potential function and association with other genes responsible for tuberculosis. In this study, ten genes with unknown function were chosen from the genome for study. Eight were not found to correlate to proteins with known functions; however, two were found to be similar to other proteins with known functions. This study is important because it contributes to ongoing research about functions of genes in the M. tuberculosis genome. Because tuberculosis continues to be a concern due to the overwhelming number of children, over one million, contracting this disease each year (Thomas 2017), having a deeper understanding about the genes expressed in M. tuberculosis could potentially lead to finding and developing safer and more efficient pediatric drugs.

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