Evolutionary history and global spread of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing lineage

Thierry Wirth, Philip Supply, Stefan Niemann and colleagues analyze 4,987 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains of the Beijing lineage isolated from 99 countries. They report whole-genome sequencing of 110 representative strains, characterize global population structure and reconstruct the evolutionary history of this lineage. Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains of the Beijing lineage are globally distributed and are associated with the massive spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis in Eurasia. Here we reconstructed the biogeographical structure and evolutionary history of this lineage by genetic analysis of 4,987 isolates from 99 countries and whole-genome sequencing of 110 representative isolates. We…