Work

Functional Characterization and Genomic Insights into Klebsiella Virulomes, Resistomes, and Mobilome Signatures

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Introduction: Klebsiella is an emerging human pathogen that can cause severe infections, including bloodstream infections, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and meningitis. Klebsiella spp. are becoming resistant to multiple antibiotics, including carbapenems, making them difficult to treat. Methods: This study analyzed the complete genome sequence of some closely related Klebsiella spp. including one newly sequenced multidrug resistance (MDR) K. pneumoniae subspecies pneumoniae, and the remaining K. variicola, K. pneumoniae HS11286, K. quasipneumoniae, K. quasivariicola, K. oxytoca, K. africana, K. aerogenes , and K. grimontii retrieved from the publicly available NCBI database for comparative analysis. Results: PubMLST Klebsiella profiling corresponded to these species for various sequence types (STs). Taxonomic and phylogenomic frameworks highlight the genetic diversity and evolutionary coherence of the K. pneumoniae complex and its close relatives. Additionally, complete genome annotation has revealed AMR phenotypes across the Klebsiella isolates. Moreover, these pathogens harbor several potential virulence factors involved in adherence, invasion, immune modulation, biofilm formation, enterobactin, yersiniabactin, aerobactin, and exotoxins, demonstrating their diverse pathogenic strategies. We also compared the diverse plasmid types among these Klebsiella isolates; K. pneumoniae HS11286 comprised five plasmids carrying multiple AMR genes. Moreover, the identification of distinct prophages, CAZymes, and KEGG annotations revealed functionally dense elements in the Klebsiella genomes. A minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay revealed that K. pneumoniae was resistant to several key AMR drugs. Discussion: The findings of this study help us to better understand the genomic landscapes of clinically important Klebsiella spp. paving the way for antimicrobial stewardship strategies to combat these pathogens. Keywords: Klebsiella pneumoniae , complete genome, virulomes, resistomes, prophages

Source: Infection and Drug Resistance

DOI: 10.2147/idr.s600552

Authors: Jie Li, Taif Shah, Mei Yang, Zahir Shah, Weihong Qin

Institutions: Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming Medical University, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar

Language: English

Topic: Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria

Subfield: Microbiology (medical)

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,836