Klebsiella pneumoniae as a key trafficker of drug resistance genes from environmental to clinically important bacteria

• Published in: Current opinion in microbiology Vol. 45; pp. 131 - 139
• Main Authors: .Wyres, Kelly L, Holt, Kathryn E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2018
• Subjects: antibiotic resistance; bacteria; genetic variation; Klebsiella pneumoniae; pathogens; plasmids; resistance genes
• ISSN: 1369-5274; 1879-0364; 1879-0364
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2018.04.004

[Display omitted] Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen known for its high frequency and diversity of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. In addition to being a significant clinical problem in its own right, K. pneumoniae is the species within which several new AMR genes were first discovered before spreading to other pathogens (e.g. carbapenem-resistance genes KPC, OXA-48 and NDM-1). Whilst K. pneumoniae's contribution to the overall AMR crisis is impossible to quantify, current evidence suggests it has a wider ecological distribution, significantly more varied DNA composition, greater AMR gene diversity and a higher plasmid burden than other Gram negative opportunists. Hence we propose it plays a key role in disseminating AMR genes from environmental microbes to clinically important pathogens.