Plasmid Vectors -- Isolation of DNA from Mycobacterium tubercolosis -- Extraction of RNA from Intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis -- Transposon Mutagenesis in Mycobacteria Using Conditionally Replicating Mycobacteriophages -- Gene Replacement and Transposon Delivery Using the Negative Selection Marker sacB -- Gene Replacement using Pretreated DNA -- Gene Replacement in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG Using rpsL as a Dominant Negative Selectable Marker -- Transcription Start-Site Mapping -- Fluorescence and Brightfield Cytology of Live M. tuberculosis Cells -- Phage Replication Technology for Diagnosis and Drug Susceptibility Testing -- Detection of Mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by a Dot Blot Hybridization Strategy -- Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Typing of Mycobacteria -- Preparation of Culture Filtrate Proteins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis -- Analysis of the Capsule of Mycobacterium tuberculosis -- Analysis of the Lipids of Mycobacterium tuberculosis -- In Vitro Model of Hypoxically Induced Nonreplicating Persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis -- 17 Macrophage Virulence Assays -- Analysis of Mycobacterium-Infected Macrophages by Immunoelectron Microscopy and Cell Fractionation -- Real Time PCR Using Molecular Beacons -- Electronic Access to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Sequence Data -- Proteomics -- Functional Genomics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Using DNA Microarrays -- Storage of Mycobacterial Strains -- Safety in the Laboratory.

With one-third of the world's population infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, over two million people a year dying from tuberculosis, and the appearance of multidrug-resistant strains, the need to understand the biology of M. tuberculosis, and so to develop new interventions, has become acute. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis Protocols, leading investigators with extensive practical knowledge and experience describe their best methods for studying this dangerous pathogen. Packed with step-by-step instructions to ensure successful results, these methods range from basic handling techniques to the application of functional genomics. These molecular techniques are suitable for research in genetics, biochemistry, microbiology, cell biology, epidemiology, and diagnostics, and are at the forefront of biological research as a whole, as well as in focused M. tuberculosis research. Highlights include methods for the basic safety and culture of M. tuberculosis, fractionation of the bacterium (nucleic acids, lipids, culture filtrate, and capsule), the analysis of gene expression (start-site mapping, real-time PCR, microarrays, and proteomics), the growth of the bacterium in macrophages and low oxygen, cytological analysis of the bacteria, and diagnostics. Highly practical and accessible, Mycobacterium tuberculosis Protocols utilizes advanced functional genomics and mutagenesis methodologies to provide both experimental and clinical investigators all the powerful techniques needed to illuminate the molecular biology of tuberculosis and its interactions with host cells, and so drive work on the wide variety of emerging therapeutic opportunities.