Despite the development of a vaccine and several antibiotics, tuberculosis continues to be one of the leading causes in mortality in the world. The pathogenesis of the main causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has puzzled many researchers for over a century. Research on the origin of M. tuberculosis can provide new knowledge on how the organism has evolved into the dangerous pathogen it is today. This thesis reviews recent literature on how the evolution of tuberculosis has contributed to the genetic diversity and positive control of select genes in the tuberculosis genome and how this can impact future development of therapeutic agents.
