Genomic evidence for the retention of the essential mycobacterial cell wall in the otherwise defective Mycobacterium leprae.

The obligate intracellularism of Mycobacterium leprae may be attributable to the effects of mutations in major metabolic areas due to a genome capable of encoding only about 1600 proteins. Yet cell wall biosynthesis capability remains relatively intact and comparisons with the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis provide insights into the genetic basis of a minimal mycobacterial cell wall.