Profiling Mycobacterium ulcerans: sporulation, survival strategy and response to environmental factors.

Buruli ulcer is an infectious disease characterized by extensive sores on the skin and soft body tissues. The disease is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium ulcerans and is mainly found in tropical countries. Over the years, several attempts to understand the means by which humans get into contact with this bug as well as how it thrives in its host remain futile. In this review, we describe a possible survival strategy, known as sporulation, that is adopted by the pathogen for dispersal and survival.