Evolutionary Genetic Analysis of the Pyrazinamidase Gene in Seven Global Populations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The present evolutionary genetic analysis of the pncA gene indicates different levels of genetic diversity in seven different country populations. As almost all the global populations showed deviation from neutral model and three populations showed signatures of natural selection, with no specific hotspot region identified for PZA resistance, this gene needs to be studied with larger population size covering countries with TB incidences to study the evolution of drug resistance in Mtb. This will help in the management of drug resistance and TB elimination plan.