Investigating the Role of DNA Methylation in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogenic bacterium that uses various adaptive mechanisms to deal with stress. The purpose of this project is to investigate one such mechanism, DNA methylation. To do this, we knocked down the expression of the methyltransferase MamA in Mycobacterium smegmatis. MamA deficient cells demonstrated growth cessation, elongation of the cell body, reduced distribution of DNA, and abnormal septation within cells. These results suggest that MamA could play a role in DNA replication and/or division.