Forschungszentrum Borstel Host-Microbe Interactome

Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and is responsible for 1.6 million deaths worldwide every year. Pathogenic mycobacteria are dependent on host lipids during infection, but precise knowledge of how the bacteria re-program lipid metabolic and lipid transport pathways to hijack host lipids is missing at present.The Host-Microbe Interactome Division of the Research Center Borsel uses the Dictyostelium discoideum/Mycobacterium marinum infection model to map the lipid flows between mycobacteria and their host cell using advanced imaging techniques.