A systematic analysis of hypermucoviscosity and capsule reveals distinct and overlapping genes that impact Klebsiella pneumoniae fitness.

ABSTRACT: Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKp) is a distinct pathotype that causes invasive community-acquired infections in healthy individuals. Hypermucoviscosity (hmv) is a major phenotype associated with hvKp characterized by copious capsule production and poor sedimentation. Dissecting the individual functions of CPS production and hmv in hvKp has been hindered by the conflation of these two properties. Although hmv requires capsular polysaccharide (CPS) biosynthesis, other cellular factors may also be required and some fitness phenotypes ascribed to CPS may be distinctly attributed to hmv. To address this challenge, we systematically identified genes that impact capsule and hmv. We generated a condensed, ordered transposon library in hypervirulent strain KPPR1, then evaluated the CPS production

SUBMITTER: Mike LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7993769 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature