Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Comparative Genomic Analysis Reveals Emergence of ST-231 and ST-395 Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains Associated with High Transmissibility of blaKPC Plasmids

Version 1 : Received: 4 September 2023 / Approved: 5 September 2023 / Online: 6 September 2023 (04:28:45 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

AL-Muzahmi, M.; Rizvi, M.; AL-Quraini, M.; AL-Muharrmi, Z.; AL-Jabri, Z. Comparative Genomic Analysis Reveals the Emergence of ST-231 and ST-395 Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains Associated with the High Transmissibility of blaKPC Plasmids. Microorganisms 2023, 11, 2411. AL-Muzahmi, M.; Rizvi, M.; AL-Quraini, M.; AL-Muharrmi, Z.; AL-Jabri, Z. Comparative Genomic Analysis Reveals the Emergence of ST-231 and ST-395 Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains Associated with the High Transmissibility of blaKPC Plasmids. Microorganisms 2023, 11, 2411.

Abstract

Conjugative transposons in Gram-negative bacteria have a significant role in the dissemination of antibiotic-resistance-conferring genes between bacteria. This study aims to genomically characterize plasmids and conjugative transposons carrying integrons in clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Genetic composition of conjugative transposons and phenotypic assessment of 50 multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates from Tertiary-care Hospital (SQUH), Muscat, Oman was investigated. Horizontal transferability was investigated by filter- mating conjugation experiments. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was performed to determine the sequence type (ST), acquired resistome and plasmidome of integron-carrying strains. Class 1 integron was detected in 96% of isolates and among integron-positive isolates, 18 stains contained variable regions. Horizontal transferability by conjugation confirmed the successful transfer of integrons between cells and WGS confirmed their presence in conjugative plasmids. Dihydrofolate reductase (dfrA14) was the most prevalent (34.8%) gene cassettes in class 1 integrons. MLST analysis detected predominantly ST-231 and ST-395. BlaOXA-232 and blaCTX-M-15 were the most frequently detected carbapenems and beta-lactamases in sequenced isolates. This study highlighted the high transmissibility of MDR-conferring conjugative plasmids in clinical isolates of K. pneumoniae. Therefore, the wise use of antibiotics and the adherence to effective infection control measures are necessary to limit further dissemination of multidrug-resistant organisms.

Keywords

mobile genetic elements; Anti-microbial resistance; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Whole genome sequencing; integrons; plasmids; sequence types; phylogenetic analysis

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Immunology and Microbiology

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.