The lack of the TetR-like repressor gene BCG_2177c (Rv2160A) may help mycobacteria overcome intracellular redox stress and survive longer inside macrophages when surrounded by a lipid environment

We analyzed the genes expressed, or the transcriptome, of bacilli Mycobacterium bovis BCG Pasteur (wtBCG) and a mutant strain obtained by transposition of the gene BCG_ BCG_2177c (mtBCG), cultured in the presence of a lipid mixture (fatty acids/cholesterol) as main carbon source. Using RNAseq we identified a group of genes that provides novel insight regarding the metabolic pathways and transcriptional regulation, and pathogenic features that were influenced by BCG_2177c gene, a TetR-like repressor, during the lipid metabolism in slow-growing mycobacteria that could be extrapolated to other members of the MTBC. Overall design: Comparative Transcriptomics between two strains of M. bovis BCG Pasteur (wild-type and BCG_2177c-muted strain) cultured in two carbon sources (Dextrose or Lipids mixture), at two states of growth (Exponential and Stationary Phase)