Klebsiella pneumoniae ST258 producing KPC-3 identified in italy carries novel plasmids and OmpK36/OmpK35 porin variants

Abstract

A carbapenemase-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain, clone ST258 producing KPC-3, was fully characterized. The entire plasmid content was investigated, thereby identifying plasmids of the IncFII(k) (two of them similar to pKPQIL and pKPN3, respectively), IncX, and ColE types, carrying a formidable set of resistance genes against toxic compounds, metals, and antimicrobial drugs and a novel iron(III) uptake system.

Fig 1

Major structural features of plasmids pKpQIL-IT (JN233705), pKPN-IT (JN233704), IncX-SHV (JN247852), and ColEST258 (JN247853). Plasmids sequenced in this study were compared with plasmids pKpQIL (NC_014016), pKPN3 (CP000648), pX1.0 (HM114226), and 15S (FJ223606), respectively. White boxes indicate plasmid scaffold regions. The genes associated with the Tra locus are indicated as capital letters within the respective boxes. Resistance genes are indicated by orange boxes, except for the bla_KPC and bla_SHV-11 genes, which are indicated by dark blue boxes. Transposon-related genes (tnpA, tnpR, and tnpM), insertion sequences, and the class1 integrase genes are indicated by light blue boxes. The two putative virulence clusters acquired by the pKPN-IT plasmid with respect to pKPN3 are indicated by red boxes.