Mycolicibacter arupensis strain:JAL-634 Genome sequencing and assembly

The incidence of Non Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) is reported regularly from different parts of India. Nearly one-third of known Mycobacterium species have been observed to be associated with disease in humans. There are some species which primarily affect the respiratory system and cause disease resembling tuberculosis (TB). Risk factors for NTM pulmonary disease include prior TB, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, occupational lung disease etc. The important feature of NTM infection is, essentially all NTMs are resistant to all first-line anti TB drugs and to some second-line injectables. Another aspect is NTM infections initially are treated as TB and are correctly diagnosed very late during the deterioration stage. Hence it is imperative to detect and identify NTM species at the earliest so as to reduce the NTM associated morbidity and mortality.