Expanding of ST11 Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Subclones in a Chinese Hospital, Shenzhen, China

Abstract

Background ST11 is the most prevalent sequence type of clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae in China. Methods We investigated the characteristics of the ST11 subclones using core genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST). Ninety-three carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae isolates were collected at Shenzhen People’s Hospital. Then, whole-genome sequencing and cgMLST were used to discriminate apparent subclones within the ST11 group. Results We analyzed the prevalence and genetic relationships of these subclones. ST11 and K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC-2) were the predominant genotype and carbapenemase, respectively, in the clinical carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae strains. cgMLST scheme genotyping divided the ST11 group into two clades across seven complex types (CTs). CT1313 was the most prevalent subclone. The deletion of galF and a high frequency of SNPs in genes associated with the stress- and SOS-responses were found in CT1291 and CT2405 over time, respectively. Conclusion Our results indicated that the subclones of the ST11 group had different patterns of prevalence. Highly discriminatory genotyping techniques, such as cgMLST scheme, should be used in further molecular epidemiology investigations.

Molecular Epidemiology, Clinical Characteristics and Risk Factors for Bloodstream Infection of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Infections in Pediatric Patients from Tianjin, China

“…Besides, our findings in MLST of CRKP clinical isolates clearly indicate that ST11 strains producing KPC, which is closely related to ST258, were prevalent in Tianjin Children's Hospital, consistent with several relevant reports about the molecular epidemiology of CRKP in China. [27][28][29] It should be noted that our results showed that 57.14% (20/35) of ST11 carbapenemases in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates clinically co-harbored bla KPC-2 and bla NDM-5 , which were resistant to most of the tested antibiotics, being susceptible only to cotrimoxazole and tigecycline. Co-occurrence of bla NDM-5 and bla KPC-2 in ST11 carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae had been reported by Hu et al They revealed that the genetic characterization of Klebsiella pneumoniae coharbouring bla NDM-5 and bla KPC-2 was not only 25 resistance genes and a large number of virulence factors, but also various mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as plasmids and genomic islands.…”

Molecular epidemiology and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus strains isolated from dairy cattle milk in Northwest, China

“…The capability of a few pathogens from one host specie to another specie poses a potential hazard to human health and the food chain ( Richardson et al., 2018 ). ST11 is reported in China in gram-negative bacteria, e.g., K. pneumonia and S. enteritidis strains ( Li et al., 2021 ; Zhang et al., 2021 ). The identification of ST11 among S. haemolyticus strains in our study may indicate the possible transfer of genes from one bacterial specie to another specie in different ecological niches through horizontal gene transfer mechanisms such as transduction, conjugation, and transformation ( Bolotin and Hershberg, 2017 ; Richardson et al., 2018 ).…”

Tracking the Outbreak of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in an Emergency Intensive Care Unit by Whole Genome Sequencing

“…7,8 In 2016, the prevalence of CRKP in different provinces of China ranged from 0.9% to 23.6%, with an average incidence rate of 8.7%. 9 Nosocomial outbreaks of CRKP were reported in different cities of China, [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] community disseminations were also observed. 17,18 CRKP strains constitute the majority of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in clinical settings, which has become a major public health problem.…”