Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome mutations and fitness cost: molecular and epidemiological modelling of functional implications

Abstract

Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) increasingly involves characterising large sections of genetic material, such as through whole genome sequencing. While some mutations identified through these techniques are well characterised and strongly associated with anti-tuberculous drug resistance, such molecular methods frequently identify mutations with unknown significance or limited understanding of associated functional biological pathways. In this PhD, I have developed computational protein structural tools and mathematical models of TB transmission, that use genomic data to understand the impact of genomic changes and predict the consequences with regards to transmissibility a..