Detection of Minority Variants and Mixed Infections in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Direct Whole-Genome Sequencing on Noncultured Specimens Using a Specific-DNA Capture Strategy
Nuria Lozano, Val F. Lanza, Julia Suárez-González, Marta Herranz, Pedro J. Sola-Campoy, Cristina Rodríguez-Grande, Sergio Buenestado-Serrano, María Jesús Ruiz-Serrano, Griselda Tudó, Fernando Alcaide, Patricia Muñoz, Darío García de Viedma, Laura Pérez-Lago
Abstract
We present a new strategy to identify mixed infections and minority variants in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by whole-genome sequencing. The objective of the strategy is the direct detection in patient sputum; in this way, minority populations of resistant strains can be identified at the time of diagnosis, facilitating identification of the most appropriate treatment for the patient from the first moment. For this, a platform for capturing M. tuberculosis-specific DNA was designed to enrich the clinical sample and obtain quality sequences.