Adaptation and evolution of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Many studies have been conducted on drug resistance and the evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Notwithstanding, many molecular mechanisms facilitating the emergence, adaptation and spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis have yet to be discovered. This thesis reports studies of the adaptive mechanisms, using mostly in vitro based experiments and molecular tools to study the importance and influence of specific factors on the development of drug resistance and the evolution of drug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis