pncA mutations in pyrazinamide-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from northwestern Russia

Thirty-six pyrazinamide-resistant and eight pyrazinamide-susceptible Mycoba cterium tuberculosis isolates from Russia were analyzed for their pncA muta tions. Thirty-one (86.1%) of the resistant isolates had a mutation either i n pncA or upstream of the gene. Twenty of the 23 different mutations found in this study had not been described earlier. pncA genotype correlated well with pyrazinamidase activity and BACTEC 460 susceptibility test results.