Conjugation of a Hybrid Plasmid Encoding Hypervirulence and Carbapenem Resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae of Sequence Type 592

Frontiers in Microbiology

Yu Feng¹  Qian Zhao²  Zhiyong Zong³ 

[1]Center for Pathogen Research, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

[2]Center of Infectious Diseases, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

[3]Department of Infection Control, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

关键词: β-lactamases;    carbapenemases;    resistance;    virulence;    conjugation;    Klebsiella pneumoniae;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2022.852596

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Klebsiella pneumoniae simultaneously carrying genes encoding carbapenem resistance and hypervirulence causes fatal infections, representing a severe threat to human health. These carbapenem-resistant and hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvCRKP) strains are increasingly reported worldwide and have been found to belong to a variety of sequence types (STs). In this study, we report and characterized an hvCRKP strain of ST592, an uncommon ST, which caused a fatal infection in intensive care unit (ICU) in China and represents a novel type of hvCRKP. We demonstrated that this novel hvCRKP type emerged from the carbapenem-susceptible hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKP) lineage of the K57 capsular type. K57 hvKP contains a pLVPK-like virulence plasmid and then acquired a conjugative blaKPC–2-carrying plasmid to form hvCRKP. The pLVPK-like virulence plasmid contains no complete conjugation module but was able to be transferred by fusion with the conjugative blaKPC–2-carrying plasmid during conjugation. This represents a new mechanism of simultaneous transfer genetic determinants of carbapenem resistance and virulence and highlights the undergoing expansion of hvCRKP, which requires rigorous monitoring and novel countermeasures to curb plasmid-mediated transmission.

【 授权许可】

Unknown