With 2 million deaths per year, TB remains the most significant bacterial 
killer. The long duration of chemotherapy and the large pool of latently 
infected people represent challenges in disease control. To develop drugs that 
effectively eradicate latent infection and shorten treatment duration, the 
pathophysiology of the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis needs to be 
understood. The discovery that the tubercle bacillus can develop a drug-tolerant 
dormant form and the identification of the underlying genetic program 10 years 
ago paved the way for a deeper understanding of the life of the parasite inside 
human lesions and for new approaches to antimycobacterial drug discovery. Here, 
we summarize what we have learnt since the discovery of the master regulator of 
dormancy, DosR, and the key gaps in our knowledge that remain. Furthermore, we 
discuss a possible wider clinical relevance of DosR for 'nontuberculous 
mycobacteria'.