MSRdb

MSRdb provides an integrated biological and bioinformatic resource to support functional characterization of 1,153 highly conserved core genes across mycobacterial species using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a model organism.

Key Features:

• Expression plasmid library: An expression plasmid library containing 1,116 genes fused with a fluorescent protein for determination of protein localization.
• Precise gene deletions: A collection of 569 precise deletions of nonessential genes for functional studies via gene knockouts.
• CRISPR-interference plasmids: A set of 843 CRISPR-interference (CRISPRi) plasmids designed to silence essential core genes and genes not amenable to precise deletion.
• Gene annotations: Detailed information about individual genes, including their functions and characteristics.
• Protein localization assessments: Comprehensive assessments of protein localization providing insights into spatial distribution within mycobacterial cells.

Scientific Applications:

• Functional characterization: Enables experimental and computational assignment of protein function in Mycobacterium smegmatis with relevance to pathogenic species including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. abscessus, M. avium, M. kansasii, M. leprae, M. marinum, and M. ulcerans.
• High-throughput genetic studies: Supports large-scale perturbation experiments using the plasmid library, deletion collection, and CRISPRi reagents to assess gene essentiality and phenotypes.
• Genome annotation and comparative inference: Facilitates annotation transfer and comparative analyses across mycobacterial genomes based on conserved core genes.
• Therapeutic target discovery: Provides experimentally derived localization and functional data to inform identification of potential drug targets and pathways relevant to mycobacterial pathogenesis.

Methodology:

Provides gene-level annotations and protein localization assessments for 1,153 highly conserved core mycobacterial genes using Mycobacterium smegmatis as the experimental model.