The genus Mycobacterium Mycobacterium accommodates more than 150 species and splits into three major groups, that is, M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC), M. leprae, and mycobacteria other than MTBC and M. leprae, collectively referred to as nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). The most famous member of the MTBC is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis (TB), which, with over 8 million new cases and nearly 2 million deaths per annum, continues to cause one of the major health burdens for human population. Whereas the prevalence of TB has been closely monitored in most parts of the world, the epidemiology of NTM infections remains poorly defined, in spite of the fact that the importance of NTMs as a cause of opportunistic infections has been increasingly recognized over the last two decades in humans. Finally leprosy, whose causative agent is M. leprae, although uncommon in nontropical regions, still persists in some endemic regions, mainly in Asia and Africa, affecting a quarter million of people every year.

The main purpose of this special issue is to summarize the most recent achievements in mycobacteriology, with particular emphasis on the developments which have direct relevance to the clinical practice and diagnostic performance. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• TB and NTM infections: Epidemiology and clinical perspective
• Atypical presentations of mycobacterial infections
• Leprosy: Current insights
• Mechanisms involved in host-pathogen interactions
• Immunology and pathogenesis
• Advances in diagnostic techniques
• Drug regimens and treatment outcomes
• Studies on drug resistance
• New antimycobacterial agents
• Progress in anti-TB vaccine development
• Genetic markers, genotyping, and next generation sequencing
• Phylogeny and evolution of mycobacteria

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/bmri/microbiology/rdm/ according to the following timetable: