Section 1: Introduction
Unicellular prokaryotes, which are found at the base of the entire harmonic structure of the ecosystem, constitute a group of micro-organisms that do not have a nucleus or membrane-enclosed semantic constituents. Opposed to cells with a eukaryotic feature, prokaryotic ones do not possess the cellular compartments seen in organisms that are more complex to the eye Eukaryotes, within their multicellular organization, have cells that differ in their structure and function. In contrast, prokaryotes (Lengeler et al., 2009) possess very few specific structures but can adjust their metabolism very well. This feature is characteristically the absence of a membrane-enclosed nucleus containing DNA that is not held in the cytoplasm. That prokaryotes represent the unicellular kind of which the living is put together is only to a great extent true as the investigation of electron microscopy reveals their diversity in the organizational complexity. We have this structural diversification that consists of the essential components in this order: the nucleoid, the ribosomes, the cytoplasmic membrane, and the cell wall. More advanced prokaryotes have other structures outside the cell wall such as the external cell envelope layers, flagella, and internal membrane system (Lengeler et al., 2009).
Bacteria grow today in many different environments and display various forms from cocci to spirilla and have a predominant cell wall made from complex peptidoglycan molecules. Archaea, most commonly found to survive in harsh surroundings, have the same cellular make-up similar to bacteria, but have different compositions in terms of their membrane lipids and in their DNA replication and transcription mechanisms that set them apart from bacteria.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as a bacterial representative of the genus Mycobacterium, can serve as a virtual ideal nominee. Being the Phylogenetic Sequence: Class Actinobacteria, Order Actinomycetales, Family Mycobacteriaceae, M. tuberculosis is the model among acid-fast bacilli. These bacteria have a lipid-rich cell wall which differs from the conventional staining methods accountability causes their characteristic staining properties (Mashabela, et al., 2019). being the principal cause of one of the world’s deadliest diseases, tuberculosis is an aspect with a substantial influence on global health. The most essential site for this aerobe is the lung tissue and it can further reach other parts of the body, which produce a variety of manifestation diseases Taxonomic classification of M. tuberculosis is a powerful tool to determine the pathogenic status of this bacterium as a global health problem since the beginning of the 20th century.
Section 2: History/ Real Life Cases
Tuberculosis (TB) has affected the human race as a long-lasting epidemic since the dawn of civilization and its invasion can be traced back to Homo Sapiens’s earliest continental migration from Africa. Alterations in lifestyle patterns like the “consumption” of old times, and episodes of tuberculosis reached a peak and were transmitted epidemically in the 18th and 19th centuries that corresponded with the industrialization period. In addition to the speedy urbanization process and the job concentration, this era provided the perfect environment for the fast spreading of this “crowd” pathogen as economic inequalities , as well as population growth , were in the upshot (Keal & Davies, 2011). While the rise of tuberculosis, about both the number of deaths as well as the number of people infected, began to slow down in the years preceding pharmaceutical combat, the Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination was not yet commonly employed. It should be noted, though, that the progress in instruments to combat tuberculosis does not prevent it from being a great deal from a global health perspective.
The World Health Organization (WHO) cites that one in every three persons in the globe is capable of developing tuberculosis if they expose themselves and the rates of occurrence of new infections are as high as one every second. However, approximately 10% of those individuals having resourceful tuberculosis will go into an active disease status, which eventually led to approximately 9.4 million cases of tuberculosis existing in the globe by 2008 (Keal & Davies, 2011).
Despite the overwhelming disease burden, dollars allocated to TB research and development are not even spent on other common infectious diseases. In 2007, HIV and malaria were the best projects that attracted a significant budget of $1.1 billion each while TB only reached $410.4 million in research investment (Keal and Davies, 2011). Raising funds is now compounded by the rising of drug-resistant tuberculous that only half a million individuals are now infected with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis(MDR-TB). Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB is a far more scary problem. At the beginning of this year, 58 nations reported cases of XDR tuberculosis, and many more countries are unable to assess the prevalence of drug resistance due to limited laboratory facilities (Keal & Davies, 2011).
Section 3: Characteristics of Bacteria
Mycobacterium family has features that allow its members to be traced differently from other bacteria. While the first feature is rapid reproduction, staining for resistance to acid is another characteristic associated with the species present in this bacteria, a fact that is also a result of strong mycolic acid content in their cell wall (Grange, 2008; Grange, 2009). This feature would enable them to keep carbol fuchsin stains after being exposed to acid-alcohol washings, and this would make them distinguishable easily when using a microscope. Interestingly, the Mycobacteriaceae have a proportionally very slow growth rate that allows them to form visible colonies on agar plates, compared to many other taxa; that require longer incubation periods for visible colony formation on agar plates. This uncomplicated growth often creates huge complications in laboratory cultivation and immensely deals with what this strange group is. In the first place, most Mycobacteriaceae are obligate aerobes, which means that they are dependent on the presence of oxygen during their metabolic processes. In addition, most Mycobacteriaceae may not be able to survive in an environment with little or no oxygen. Such an ability of aerobic bacteria to flourish in oxygen-rich environments clearly distinguishes them from the anaerobic bacteria and underlines their anatomical adaptability.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a peculiar bacterial species having distinguishing features that play its part in inducing disease symptoms and achieving clinical significance. M. bacillus is characterized by its acid-fast bacillus morphology, which – unlike other microbes – retains the carbol fuchsin stain even after the acid-alcohol treatment(Grange, 2008). It can also be added that M. tuberculosis is an intracellular pathogen that is capable of invading and residing in host cells, specifically macrophages, which consist of a part of our immune system. N. gonorrhoeae has this unique feature to survive intracellularly and thus can avoid host immune defenses and, eventually, can assure its chronic infections, increasing the virulence of the kind. A waxy lipid layer with one of its main components being mycolic acids, makes the cell wall of M. tuberculosis thick and practically impermeability to antibiotics and immune defenses.
Section 4: How to Identify the Bacteria
Diagnostic Tests
- Chest X-rays
Give particular images of the chest, including the lungs, and are crucial for detecting abnormalities suggestive of tuberculosis such as nodules, cavities, and consolidations. Despite the fact chest X-rays are an important diagnostic tool for depicting pulmonary lesions associated with tuberculosis, it is not always the case to be used as a definitive diagnostic tool, especially in early or mild cases.
- Culture and Sensitivity
Refers to getting a sample from the case respiratory tract (e.g. sputum or bronchial washings) specially cultured in one which would be the favorable medium for the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria will be cultured and then tested by sensitivity test to identify the antibiotics for which they are capable of affording resistance. are so reliable as they require a few weeks to produce the results, nonetheless, speed regarding the consumption of the slower-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis microorganism is not the most essential parameter.
- Smear Microscopy and Nucleic Acid Amplification
Smear microscopy identifies apertures of contents of sputum for acid-fast bacilli and the nucleic acid amplification test picks M. tuberculosis DNA. PCR and DFA are both rapid methods of diagnosis, in which nucleic acid amplification is more sensitive. These diagnostic tools render a quick and accurate pathogen identification that, in many cases, may not be possible by a more traditional culture method where performed.
- Tuberculin Skin Testing/ Mantoux skin testing
Tuberculin, obtained from particles of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), which is called a purified protein derivative, is injected into the skin. A positive response to the injection is characterized by the induration distal to the injection site within the time range of 48-72 hours, which is thought to be the result of the tuberculosis antigens.
- Interferon Gamma Release Assays (IGRAs)
IGRAs are tests to see if interferon-gamma is being released by the T lymphocytes when it is exposed to antigens taken from the bacteria. Blood samples of a patient are collected and then mixed with M. tuberculosis antigens and kept at room temperature. The level of interferon-gamma which was released then is measured via a specific laboratory method. The IGRAs’ ability to correlate to a higher degree than the tuberculin skin testing accounts is partly because they are more resistant to false positive results caused by Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination and BCG or non-tuberculous mycobacteria infection.
Section 5: Biotechnology & Conclusion
Biotechnological breakthroughs have without a doubt been a tremendous boon in combating TB and its counterparts- infectious diseases. Developed biotechnological changes have resulted in the advanced production of diagnostic techniques including nucleic acid amplification tests and interferon-gamma release assays, which are rapid and accurate tests for TB infection. Through molecular analysis, these molecular assays make it possible to detect tuberculosis at earlier stages using sensitivity levels and specificity that are higher than the traditional diagnostic methods, and therefore the patients receive earlier treatment. Additionally, biotechnology has contributed to the identification and production of new anti-tubercular pills as well as vaccines that bolster the existing antibacterial remedies for dangerous strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The implementation of biotechnological tools including genomics and proteomics has considerably enhanced the unveiling of peculiar molecular mechanisms through which tuberculosis is coded and remains upto training new ones, which offer a platform for designing targeted therapies. Moreover, biotechnology technologies are the key component of vaccines against tuberculosis and the development continues as there is active research to improve their effectiveness and immunity.
References
Grange, J. (2008). Mycobacterium tuberculosis: the organism. Clinical tuberculosis, 4, 65-78. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BcjECQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA65&dq=mycobacterium+tuberculosis+bacteria+characteristics&ots=rhbxBDqDvd&sig=kKaqeTbHTwfNx1zHeyLc2DjeIjo
Grange, J. M. (2009). The genus Mycobacterium and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Tuberculosis: a comprehensive clinical reference, 5, 44-59. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5wFM7Bu8FG0C&oi=fnd&pg=PA44&dq=related:ikBqEFT1NEcJ:scholar.google.com/&ots=duDfKMboVj&sig=dFbpEALi0u_ZYv0W5JhkOlxVSdw
Keal, J. L., & Davies, P. D. (2011). Tuberculosis: a forgotten plague? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 104(5), 182–184. https://doi.org/10.1258/jrsm.2011.100384
Konstantinos, A. (2010). Testing for tuberculosis. Australian prescriber, 33(1).https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/testing-for-tuberculosis
Lengeler, J. W., Drews, G., & Schlegel, H. G. (Eds.). (2009). Biology of the Prokaryotes. John Wiley & Sons. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vXbJa4X5oHsC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=Lengeler,+J.+W.,+Drews,+G.,+%26+Schlegel,+H.+G.+(Eds.).+(2009).+Biology+of+the+Prokaryotes.+John+Wiley+%26+Sons.&ots=6N8GVWoZFN&sig=CxcxKsa64uSRfhUm5is3W1JekXU
Mashabela, G. T., de Wet, T. J., & Warner, D. F. (2019). Mycobacterium tuberculosis Metabolism. Microbiology spectrum, 7(4), 10.1128/microbiolspec.GPP3-0067-2019. https://doi.org/10.1128/microbiolspec.GPP3-0067-2019
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