2017 Science@CornellVet: Tuberculosis bacteria love lipids

Abstract

This blog post is about: Cheeseburger, bacon, ice cream…sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Many people would love to eat these tasty things even more frequently — if only we had a way to limit the uptake of calories and fat. Interestingly, the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) not only exhibits a similar preference for fatty nutrients, it also has a way to regulate the uptake of fat into its system. In fact, controlled acquisition of fatty acids and cholesterol (the scientific term is lipids) are essential for the bacterium to survive within the human host and to fully unfold its infectious potential. Here we answer some key questions about how research of bacterial nutrition here at Cornell University could help stop tuberculosis.