Two-Component System of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Two Component Systems (TCSs), are widespread signal transduction devices in prokaryotes that enable these organisms to elicit an adaptive response to environmental stimuli, primarily through changes in gene expression [1]. They are typically composed of a membrane-located sensor with histidine kinase activity and a cytoplasmic transcriptional regulator. Generally, stimuli detected by TCS autophosphorylate sensor proteins at a conserved histidine residue. The sensor proteins then transfer phosphorylation to an aspartic acid residue of the transcription regulator. The active regulatory proteins then induce conformational changes in virulence, metabolism, mobility, etc.