BioNews / Popular Science

Genome of leprosy bacillus

Over 50% of genes might be lost or unfunctional in leprosy bacillus Mycobacterium leprae compared to its relative, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The two bacteria seem to have 1439 genes in common, and over 2000 genes might have been lost during the reductive evolution of the leprosy parasite. Nature vol.409, 22 Feb.2001 p.1007-11 (S.T.Cole et al.; stcole@pasteur.fr).

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