Objectives: Multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis poses a global threat, particularly in developing countries such as Pakistan. Genome sequencing, comparative genomic analysis, and drug resistance gene analysis, could be beneficial for understanding and monitoring M. tuberculosis disease severity in Pakistan by elucidating the biology of M. tuberculosis. Methods: In this study, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated a draft genome of M. tuberculosis strain swlpk using the Illumina MiSeq 300PE throughput 2M system. de novo genomic assembly was conducted using Geneious pro V10. The assembled genome sequence of strain swlpk was annotated using the Rapid Annotation Subsystem Technology (RAST) server, tRNAscan-SE 1.21, and RNAamer V1.2, which provide high quality functional annotation. Results: M. tuberculosis strain swlpk yielded an average read depth of 68.5 fold, which covered 97% of the genome of reference strain H37rv. The genome contains 4305 protein-coding genes including key drug resistance genes and virulence-associated genes such as type seven secretion systems (T7SS). In addition, it has a 65.6% GC content and contains 48 RNAs and 12 contigs. We further determined that all proteins encoded by this strain contain conserved domains, except OxyR, which is associated with first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs such as EMB, RIF, SM, PZA, and INH. Conclusions: This genome sequence provides information regarding the drug resistance genes and virulence propensity of M. tuberculosis strain swlpk. Strain swlpk appears to be multidrug resistant, similar to the Beijing genotype, as it clusters in the same group. These findings will pave the way for genomic characterization, which will provide further insights into adaptation and evolution in human hosts by transcriptome studies and gene manipulation.
