Genetic requirements for Klebsiella pneumoniae-induced liver abscess in an oral infection model.

ABSTRACT: Klebsiella pneumoniae is the predominant pathogen of primary liver abscess. However, our knowledge regarding the molecular basis of how K. pneumoniae causes primary infection in the liver is limited. We established an oral infection model that recapitulated the characteristics of liver abscess and conducted a genetic screen to identify the K. pneumoniae genes required for the development of liver abscess in mice. Twenty-eight mutants with attenuated growth in liver or spleen samples out of 2,880 signature-tagged mutants that produced the wild-type capsule were identified, and genetic loci which were disrupted in these mutants were identified to encode products with roles in cellular metabolism, adhesion, transportation, gene regulation, and unknown functions. We further evaluated the virul

SUBMITTER: Tu YC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2708586 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature