M. tuberculosis Resistance Testing by Whole Genome Sequencing

Conventional Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) resistance testing involves slow-growing culture and breakpoint drug-susceptibility testing (DST) on liquid or solid media, which require several weeks of incubation. Also, for practical reasons, DST can easily miss low-level resistance. Recent advances in molecular technology have made whole genome sequencing (WGS) widely available to microbiology laboratories, enabling resistance testing at the molecular level. Resistance testing by WGS is particularly attractive for mycobacteria, as all resistance is coded in the mycobacterial genome and not in plasmids. To test the accuracy of WGS in detecting MTB resistance, Dutch researchers used both WGS and conventional mycobacteria growth indicator tube…