Characterization of MtB protein landscapes using advanced proteomic platforms
Tuberculosis is the global leading cause of death by infectious disease. The causative bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), is intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics and rapidly develops resistance to new drugs. Drug discovery efforts are hampered by our limited understanding of Mtb biology, with much of its proteome still poorly characterized. Here, we aim to leverage advanced chemical proteomic platforms developed in our lab to address this problem in collaboration with the Rock lab at the Rockefeller University. This approach profiles proteome-wide cysteine reactivity and ligandability by small-molecule electrophiles and has proven powerful in mammalian immunology. By adapting the platform to Mtb for the first time, we can both improve our understanding of mycobacterial proteomics and identify novel putative druggable targets.