Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease that is responsible for over 1.5 million deaths annually across the globe. Drug resistant and extensively drug resistant strains have rendered many frontline treatments less effective, resulting in an urgent need for new drugs and targets. The Hedstrom lab has been focused on the development of anti-mycobacterial inhibitors for two decades. A family of benzoxazole compounds (Q compounds) have proven to be effective inhibitors of Mtb. Q112 is a potent inhibitor of Mtb and has a novel mechanism of action. The identification of novel targets and mechanistic pathways is vital towards the development of new TB drugs. Herein, we report that Q112 uniquely perturbs peptidoglycan biosynthesis and may also target fatty acid biosynthesis in Mycobacteria.