Campus Times|Lucknow

In a breakthrough that could reshape the fight against Tuberculosis (TB), researchers at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) have decoded how the deadly bacterium survives inside the human body despite immune attack.

Dr. Yusuf Akhtar and his PhD scholar Dr. Gauri Shankar from the Department of Biotechnology have discovered that Mycobacterium tuberculosis activates powerful iron-grabbing molecules called siderophores when the body tries to starve it of iron — a nutrient essential for its survival. Their findings, published in BioMetals (Springer Nature), reveal that key genes such as mbtA, mbtB, mbtE, and mbtI switch on under iron scarcity, helping the bacterium grow, hide from immunity, and even remain dormant for years.

TB continues to devastated

The discovery is significant as TB continues to devastate lives globally. According to the World Health Organization, 10.8 million people fell ill and 1.25 million died from TB in 2023. India alone accounts for 25% of global cases, with nearly 3.2 lakh deaths annually.

With drug-resistant TB rising sharply, the study offers hope. Since even resistant strains depend on iron, targeting the siderophore pathway could open the door to a new generation of highly specific and safer treatments.

As India pushes toward TB elimination, this research highlights a new biological weak point — and a fresh scientific opportunity in one of humanity’s oldest battles.