Tracking The Evolution Of The Next Potential Superbug

Scientists have mapped the genome of the highly diverse Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterium, a pathogen that could potentially be highly virulent and antibiotic-resistant.

AsianScientist (Jul. 2, 2015) – An international team of scientists has decoded the genes of Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP), a bacterium found in hospitals throughout the developing and developed world.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved 37 research institutions around the world and bacterial samples from six countries, representing 300 strains. It is the largest ever genetically-decoded collection of this bacterial pathogen and gives scientists access to valuable data to stay ahead of KP evolution, as fears grow about the emergence of strains that are both highly infectious and antibiotic-resistant.

Drug-resistant KP strains have caused significant problems in America and Europe for over a decade. There have been outbreaks in South America, Africa and Asia with the hyper-virulent strains causing serious infections in the local populations.

Co-author of the paper, University of Melbourne Professor Dick Strugnell, said this research provides a vital starting point to understand and track the evolution of the bug and even anticipate its antibiotic resistance.

“KP is commonly found in the environment and can acquire resistance genes, become established in hospitals, and then become a major health problem. The bacterium exists as a diverse population, some of which can cause severe disease in humans,” Strugnell said.

“The bacterium has evolved a thick sticky sugar ‘coat’ which stops it drying out. This coat contributes to the formation of biofilms of the bacteria which are hard to remove from hospitals with traditional cleaning methods.”

Lead-author Dr. Kathryn Holt, of the University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute, says in most cases KP infects people who are already weakened by illness, but there is a real risk that the bacteria will evolve to become a significant threat to healthy individuals.

“Almost any Klebsiella pneumoniae can cause an infection in someone who is already ill in hospital, but very few strains are virulent enough to affect a healthy person,” she said.

“So far we have been extremely lucky in that most of the antibiotic-resistant strains are not highly virulent to humans. Unfortunately, Klebsiella strains are very good at swapping around genes that encode antibiotic resistance, so it’s probably just a matter of time before we see this.”

“The bacterium is really good at evolving through acquiring new genes. We looked at 300 different strains and every second one we looked at was completely new, so that tells you there’s a lot of diversity out there and we don’t really have a handle on this at all.”

The study provides a foundation for further research into how these bacteria adapt to new niches and become more diverse. The findings of the paper could also prove useful for designing vaccines to prevent, rather than treat, KP infections.

The article can be found at: Holt et al. (2015) Genomic Analysis of Diversity, Population Structure, Virulence, and Antimicrobial Resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae, an Urgent Threat to Public Health.

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Source: University of Melbourne; Photo: NIAID/Flickr/CC.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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