Debbie Hunt

Abstract The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance is an important challenge that warrants new approaches to antibiotic development. Currently, all antibiotics inhibit biological processes.

eLife assessment Sulphur atoms derived from cysteine are thought to play significant roles in maintaining redox homeostasis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which encounters stresses associated with immune cell interactions. In this valuable manuscript, the authors provide solid evidence that the genes encoding cysteine biosynthetic enzymes (cysM and cysK2) are required to maintain full viability of M.