The lysine acetyltransferase Rv0998 coordinates transcriptional and metabolic adaptation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to acidic pH.

Loss of the lysine acetyltransferase Rv0998 impairs Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth at acidic pH and disrupts metabolic and transcriptional responses, especially with glucose as the main carbon source.

• Why it matters: Understanding how Mtb adapts to acidic and nutrient-variable host environments is crucial for developing targeted therapies, as current knowledge of stress-metabolism regulation is limited.
• What they did: The study used rv0998 deletion mutants, RNA sequencing, and stable isotope tracing with [U-13C6]-glucose to analyze changes in gene expression and carbon metabolism under acid stress conditions.
• The result: Findings reveal Rv0998's role in coordinating transcriptional and metabolic adaptation to acid stress, highlighting its importance in linking stress responses to central carbon metabolism in Mtb.