Capsule mutations serve as a key strategy of phage resistance evolution of K54 hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: Phage therapy is a promising antibacterial strategy against the antibiotic resistance crisis. The evolved phage resistance could pose a big challenge to clinical phage therapy. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of phage resistance mechanisms during treatment. Here, we characterize 37 phage-resistant mutants of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae strain SCNJ1 under phage-imposed selection in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. We show that 97.3% (36/37) of phage-resistant clones possessed at least one mutation in genes related to the CPS biosynthesis. Notably, the wcaJ gene emerges as a mutation hotspot, as mutations in this gene are detected at a high frequency under both conditions. In contrast, mutations in wzc exhibit more association with in vivo samples. These

SUBMITTER: Fu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11836320 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature