Whole genome sequencing reveals diverse virulence traits in Klebsiella pneumoniae of South African origins, suggesting the need for genomic surveillance.
Key Points
This research aims to analyze the genomic diversity and virulence factors of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae in South Africa.
Collected eleven hypermucoviscous Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from South African hospitals in 2021 and 2024.
Conducted whole genome sequencing (WGS) on the isolates to analyze their genomic features.
Examined capsular loci, virulence factors, and antimicrobial resistance genes using bioinformatics pipelines.
Performed phylogenomic analysis to infer relationships with global reference strains.
Identified key virulence determinants including siderophore genes ybt and irp2, and capsule regulator genes rmpA and rmpA2.
The dominant sequence type was ST3430 (27% of isolates), followed by ST23 (9%).
Detected limited antimicrobial resistance genes, with no carbapenem resistance found.
Revealed significant global genetic diversity among the hypervirulent strains, linking them to international lineages.