A Brief review on Ecology and Evolution of Mycobacteria

Tuberculosis is one of the grand old diseases and among the top burdened diseases of the world. Most Mycobacteria are environmental saprophytes except Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae, which are obligate pathogens. However, several studies indicate that the selection of the pathogens in an ever changing environment do occur by a variety of deletion mutations over time. Mycobacterium tuberculosis might have originated from an environmental ancestor. Some studies even predict that some of the environmental saprophytic mycobacteria may become pathogens in near future because of the selection pressure of the environment. In this context, this article briefly outlines the ecology and evolution of the Mycobacteria.