The current release (R7) contains the updated annotation of the genome sequence of M. leprae TN. 177 new pseudogenes have been added according to the article by Gomez-Valero et al. (Genome Research, 2007). Furthermore, a new Advanced Search option is proposed: Search by peptide motif by entering the standard aminoacid one letter code.
Leprosy in numbers:
- 3,268,212 bp of DNA sequence representing the whole Mycobacterium leprae chromosome (strain TN, EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ entry AL450380_2)
- 1,614 protein genes
- 1,310 pseudogenes
- 45 tRNA genes
- 3 rRNA genes
- 2 stable RNA genes
- Gene density: 2,024 bases per gene
- Average gene length: 1,007 bases per gene
- Protein coding percentage: 49.5%
- GC percentage: 57.79% (genes: 60.1%, pseudogenes: 56.5%, noncoding regions: 54.5%)
- SNP frequency: 1/28400 bp
Release 6 (December 2009): 29 genes associated with the type VII secretion systems have been updated and renamed according to the recent opinion article by Bitter et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2009), in order to provide these genes with a systematic nomenclature.
Release 5 (October 2009): 30 genes, M. tuberculosis orthologues have their name updated according to M. tuberculosis annotation.
Release 4 (August 2009): The coordinates of the whole genome have been updated to reflect the nine insertions discovered according to the article by Monot et al (Nature Genetics, 2009). The "Annotation Changes" field show what has been updated and the last date of revision for a particular gene.
We thank all the users who have contributed to the database and encourage informative comments in the future. We welcome comments, updates and bug reports at
Contact us:
The Leprosy knowledge base integrates genome details, protein information, drug and transcriptome data, mutant and operon annotation; structural views and comparative genomics, in a structured manner required for the rational development of new diagnostic, therapeutic and prophylactic measures against leprosy. With the means of expert curation and continuously updates, we deliver a broad view of the Mycobacterium leprae genome.
Leprosy is funded from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Leprosy database and website has been created and is currently being annotated and maintained in the laboratory of Professor Stewart Cole, part of the Global Health Institute.
The site is hosted at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
