Work

Mobile genetic elements in shaping Klebsiella pneumoniae pathogenicity

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: has evolved from an opportunistic pathogen into a formidable global threat, with hypervirulent strains now causing severe infections in healthy individuals and carbapenem-resistant variants achieving mortality rates exceeding 42%. This transformation can be driven by mobile genetic elements including plasmids, integrative conjugative elements (ICE), insertion sequences (ISs), transposons, and integrons. Recent discoveries reveal that these elements employ sophisticated mechanisms: conjugative virulence plasmids dissemination across bacterial populations; ICEs-mediated virulence traits transfer; and hybrid genetic elements simultaneously confer virulence and antimicrobial resistance. Understanding these molecular mechanisms is critical for developing targeted diagnostics and therapeutics that disrupt mobile element mobility, offering promising strategies to combat the convergence of hypervirulence and resistance in this WHO priority pathogen.

Source: Frontiers in Microbiology

DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1730961

Authors: Yanbing Li, Refath Farzana

Institutions: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria

Subfield: Molecular Medicine

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801