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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.04.21.440730

Three bacterium-plasmid golden combinations facilitate the spread of ST11/CG258 carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in China

Li, C.·Jiang, X.·Yang, T.·Ju, Y.·Yin, Z.·Yue, L.·Ma, G.·Wang, X.·Jing, Y.·Luo, X.·Li, S.·Yang, X.·Chen, F.·Zhou, D.
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Abstract

Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (cpKP) poses serious threats to public health. Previous studies showed that only ST11/CG258-cpKP successfully disseminated in China, however, the underlying genetic bases are still unknown. We conducted a comprehensive genomic-epidemiology analysis on 420 cpKP isolates from 70 hospitals in 24 Chinese provinces during 2009-2017 based on short-/long-reads sequencing. Three golden combinations of host--blaKPC-carrying plasmids (Clade 3.1+3.2--IncFIIpHN7A8, Clade 3.1+3.2--IncFIIpHN7A8:IncR, Clade 3.3--IncFIIpHN7A8:IncpA1763-KPC) endowed cpKP with advantages both in genotypes (strong-correlation/co-evolution) and phenotypes (resistance/growth/competition), thereby facilitating nationwide spread of ST11/CG258-cpKP. Intriguingly, Bayesian skyline illustrated that the three golden combinations might directly lead to the strong population expansion during 2007-2008 and subsequent maintenance of the dissemination of ST11/CG258-cpKP after 2008. We tested drug-resistance profiles and proposed combination treatment regimens for CG258/non-CG258 cpKP. Our findings systematically revealed the molecular-epidemiology and genetic-basis for dissemination of Chinese ST11/CG258 cpKP and reminded us to monitor the golden combinations of cpKP- plasmid closely.

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Li, C., Jiang, X., Yang, T., Ju, Y., Yin, Z., Yue, L., Ma, G., Wang, X., Jing, Y., Luo, X., Li, S., Yang, X., Chen, F., Zhou, D.. 2021-04-21. Three bacterium-plasmid golden combinations facilitate the spread of ST11/CG258 carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in China. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.21.440730

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