Understanding Elongasome Unit of Mycobacterium and its Comparative Analysis with Other Model Organisms

The reported incidences of 10.6 million tuberculosis cases worldwide with 1.6 million deaths in 2021 indicate that this disease, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogen is difficult to treat and requires exploring newer possible therapeutic interventions. To identify novel drug targets, it is important to understand the basic physiological processes of each pathogen in detail. Cell division is the fundamental physiological process which maintains the replicative state of bacteria. This process requires remodelling of the cell wall, which is performed by two spatio-temporal organized complexes, elongasome and divisome. These two complexes, elongasome and divisome function in synthesis of peptidoglycan (PG) at poles or septum of the cell, respectively. This review article is focused on illustrating differential features and composition of mycobacterial elongasome complex. This sort of understanding would allow identification of new drug targets and design of Mycobacterium specific drugs.