Rapid sequencing of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis pncA gene for detection of pyrazinamide susceptibility.

We developed a pyrazinamidase gene DNA-sequencing method to rapidly identify pyrazinamide resistance-causing mutations in GenoLyse-treated, smear-positive sputum specimens. The sensitivity and specificity were 90.9 and 100%, respectively, compared to those of MGIT drug susceptibility testing, after the exclusion of synonymous mutations and nonsynonymous mutations previously associated with susceptibility to pyrazinamide.