Phenotypic and Genomic Characterization of Nine String-Positive Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates from Israel.

ABSTRACT: A positive "string test" indicates the ability of bacterial colonies grown on agar plates to form viscous strings of >5 mm when stretched. This phenotype is strongly associated with hypervirulence in Klebsiella pneumoniae but has never been described in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), an emerging human pathogen of high clinical significance. In this work, we screened 1,000 CRAB isolates, among which we identified and characterized 9 string-positive CRAB (stCRAB) isolates. Phenotypic and genotypic analyses revealed that the isolates were not phylogenetically related and possessed different antibiotic resistance and virulence profiles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed the presence of capsule in string-positive isolates. String-positive isolates were more mot

SUBMITTER: Rakovitsky N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10100839 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature