Nuria Andreu, Andrea Zelmer, Taryn Fletcher, Paul T. Elkington, Theresa H. Ward, Jorge Ripoll, Tanya Parish, Gregory J. Bancroft, Ulrich Schaible, Brian D. Robertson, Siouxsie Wiles

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis, still represents a major public health threat in many countries. Bioluminescence, the production of light by luciferase-catalyzed reactions, is a versatile reporter technology with multiple applications both in vitro and in vivo. In vivo bioluminescence imaging (BLI) represents one of its most outstanding uses by allowing the non-invasive localization of luciferase-expressing cells within a live animal. Despite the extensive use of luminescent reporters in mycobacteria, the resultant luminescent strains have not been fully applied to BLI.