Project description:Precise definition of porin profiles is of critical importance to understand the role of porins in antimicrobial resistance. In this study, the outer membrane proteins (OMP) profiles of 26 clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and of strain ATCC 13883 (wild-type) and ATCC 700603 (producing SHV-18) have been determined using both sodium-dodecyl-sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time of flight/mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS). SDS-PAGE was performed using both homemade and commercial gels, and protein bands were identified by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. A rapid extraction method was used to analyse OMPs by MALDI-TOF/MS. The sequences of porin genes were obtained by whole genome sequencing (WGS) and mutations were defined by BLAST. Same results were obtained for all strains either using SDS-PAGE or MALDI-TOF/MS. SDS-PAGE showed protein bands of ~35, ~36, and ~37 KDa, identified as OmpA, OmpK36 and OmpK35, respectively. By MALDI-TOF/MS, peaks at ~35700 (OmpA), ~37000 (OmpK35), and ~38000 (OmpK36) m/z were detected. ompK35 was intact in nine wild-type isolates and was truncated in 13 isolates, but OmpK35 was not observed in 3 isolates without mutations in ompK35. One point mutation was detected in another isolate and multiple mutations were detected in the remaining isolate. ompK36 was truncated in two isolates lacking this protein and presented one point mutation (n=1) or multiple mutations in the remaining isolates. In conclusion, MALDI-TOF/MS was reliable for porin detection, but because of the complex regulation of porin genes, WGS cannot always anticipate protein expression, as observed with SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF/MS.
Project description:The increasing antibiotic resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae poses a serious threat to global public health. To investigate the antibiotic resistance mechanism of Klebsiella pneumonia, we performed gene expression profiling analysis using RNA-seq data for clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia, KPN16 and ATCC13883. Our results showed that mutant strain KPN16 is likely to act against the antibiotics through increased increased butanoate metabolism and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and decreased transmembrane transport activity.
Project description:In this study, we introduce BacDrop, a bacterial droplet-based high throughput scRNA-seq technology that can be applied to large cell numbers. We applied BacDrop to study Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates and elucidated their critical, genome-wide heterogeneity in the absence and presence of antibiotic perturbations.
Project description:The emergence and spread of polymyxin resistance, especially among Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates threaten the effective management of infections. This study profiled for polymyxin resistance mechanisms and investigated the activity of polymyxins plus vancomycin against carbapenem- and polymyxin-resistant K. pneumoniae.
Project description:Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) arises from complex genetic and regulatory changes, including single mutations, gene acquisitions or cumulative effects. Advancements in genomics and proteomics facilitate more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms behind antimicrobial resistance. In this study, 74 clinically obtained Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates with increased meropenem and/or imipenem MICs were characterized by broth microdilution and PCR to check for the presence of carbapenemase genes. Subsequently, a representative subset of 15 isolates was selected for whole genome sequencing (WGS) by Illumina and Nanopore sequencing, and proteomic analysis by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to investigate the mechanisms underlying the differences in carbapenem susceptibility of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates. Identical techniques were applied to characterize 4 mutants obtained after sequential meropenem exposure. We demonstrated that in clinically obtained isolates, increased copy numbers of blaOXA-48 containing plasmids, combined with OmpK36 loss, contributed to high carbapenem MICs without involvement of OmpK35 or other porins or efflux systems. In the meropenem exposed mutants, increased copy numbers of blaCTX-M-15 or blaOXA-48 containing plasmids, combined with OmpK36 loss was demonstrated. The OmpK36 loss resulted from the insertion of IS1 transposable elements or partial deletion of the ompK36 gene. Additionally, we identified two mutations, C59A and C58A, in the DNA coding the copA antisense RNA of IncFII plasmids and multiple mutations of an IncR plasmid, associated with increased plasmid copy numbers. This study demonstrates that by combining WGS and LC-MS/MS, the effect of genomic changes on protein expression related to antibiotic resistance and the mechanisms behind antibiotic resistance can be elucidated.
Project description:The study aimed to characterize plasmids mediating carbepenem resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae in Pretoria, South Africa. We analysed 56 K. pneumoniae isolates collected from academic hospital around Pretoria. Based on phenotypic and molecular results of these isolates, 6 representative isolates were chosen for further analysis using long reads sequencing platform. We observed multidrug resistant phenotype in all these isolates, including resistance to aminoglycosides, tetracycline, phenicol, fosfomycin, floroquinolones, and beta-lactams antibiotics. The blaOXA-48/181 and blaNDM-1/7 were manily the plasmid-mediated carbapenemases responsible for carbapenem resistance in the K. pneumoniae isolates in these academic hospitals. These carbapenemase genes were mainly associated with plasmid replicon groups IncF, IncL/M, IncA/C, and IncX3. This study showed plasmid-mediated carbapenemase spread of blaOXA and blaNDM genes mediated by conjugative plasmids in Pretoria hospitals.
