Genetic Diversity and Pathogenic Features in Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates from Patients with Pyogenic Liver Abscess and Pneumonia
Lin Gan, Chao Yan, Jinghua Cui, Guanhua Xue, Hanyu Fu, Bing Du, Hanqing Zhao, Junxia Feng, Yanling Feng, Zheng Fan, Pan Mao, Tongtong Fu, Ziying Xu, Shuheng Du, Shiyu Liu, Rui Zhang, Qun Zhang, Nannan Li, Xiaohu Cui, Xiaoran Li, Yao Zhou, Lei Huang, Jing Yuan
Abstract
While Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common cause of nosocomial and community-acquired infections, including pneumonia and pyogenic liver abscess, little is known about the population structure of this bacterium. We collected 232 isolates from carriers, pyogenic liver abscess patients, and pneumonia patients, and the isolates from different sources had their own sequence types. Pangenome analysis also distinguished three phylogroups that were consistent with the isolate sources. The isolates collected from liver abscess patients carried significantly more virulence factors, and those from pneumonia patients harbored significantly more resistance genes and replicons. Besides, there was a strong link between salmochelin and liver abscess. The isolates collected from liver abscesses also showed higher virulence in the cytotoxicity and mouse models. Isolates collected from different sources have distinct genomic features, suggesting that different patients may be infected via different sources.