A hybrid plasmid formed by recombination of a virulence plasmid and a resistance plasmid in Klebsiella pneumoniae. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xie, Miaomiao; Dong, Ning; Chen, Kaichao; Yang, Xuemei; Ye, Lianwei; Chan, Edward Wai-Chi; Zhang, Rong; Chen, Sheng
• Is Part Of: Journal of global antimicrobial resistance. Volume 23(2020)
• Page Start: 466
• Page End: 470
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Klebsiella pneumoniae -- multidrug resistance -- plasmid -- recombination; Drug resistance -- Periodicals; Drug resistance -- Periodicals; Drug resistance; Periodicals; 616.9041
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2020.10.018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2213-7165

Abstract

Highlights: Hybrid plasmid pHB25-1 carried multidrug-resistance and virulence-encoding genes. pHB25-1 may be formed by recombination of virulence and multidrug-resistance plasmids. Plasmid in multidrug-resistant and hypervirulent K. pneumoniae can evolve genetically. Such evolution can occur through transposition activities of mobile elements. Abstract: Objective: The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) facilitates simultaneous dissemination of virulence and resistance in a single event, which poses serious threat to public health. Methods: This study characterized the multidrug-resistant and moderately virulent ST11 K64 K. pneumoniae strain HB25-1 from a clinical case with microbiological and genomic approaches. Plasmids from strain HB25-1 were subjected to whole plasmid sequencing using both the Illumina NextSeq 500 sequencing platform and Nanopore MinION sequencer platforms. Klebsiella pneumoniae HB25-1 was subjected to a conjugation experiment and Galleria mellonella infection model to evaluate the transmission and virulence potential. Results: We report the emergence of an ST11, serotype K64 K. pneumoniae isolate, which is resistant to third-generation cephalosporin and exhibited a moderate level of virulence. WGS revealed that this strain harboured a plasmid, pHB25-1, which carried multidrug resistance genes ( bla DHA-1, qnrB4, dfrA12, aadA2, sul1, aac(3)-lld, bla TEM-1, mph(E) ) and virulence-encoding genes (the regulator of mucoid phenotype A gene rmpA2 and the aerobactin gene cluster iutAiucABCD ). Genomic analysis indicated that pHB25-1 was formed through co-integration of structural regions located in two different plasmids, enabling it to encode both resistance and virulent phenotypes. Conclusion: Findings in this study provide evidence of active plasmid evolution in K. pneumoniae and suggest that surveillance of multidrug-resistant and hypervirulent K. pneumoniae is urgently needed.