Whole-genome sequence analysis of a clinical hypervirulent Klebsiella variicola strain recovered from a hospital in Ningxia, China.

Authors

Yuting Kang, Zezhou Zhang, Siyu Ma, Wei Tao, Pengtao Wang

Published in

Frontiers in microbiology. Volume 17. Pages 1961169. Epub Oct 07, 2026.

Abstract

Klebsiella variicola (KV) infections are being increasingly reported across diverse geographic regions and linked to high mortality. KV displays substantial geographical heterogeneity in antimicrobial resistance profiles, virulence phenotypes, and genetic backgrounds; genetic variants further promote its adaptability to varied environments. In this study, we isolated a strain designated KV7 from the sputum sample of an ICU patient at a tertiary hospital in Ningxia, China, with species confirmation achieved via whole-genome sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the VITEK 2 Compact automated microbial system. String test, immune cell phagocytosis assay, serum resistance assay, and mouse infection model were applied to evaluate virulence phenotypes. Genomic characterization revealed that KV7 belongs to ST8223 with an unassigned KL type and exhibits hypervirulence while remaining susceptible to tested antibiotics. Its hypervirulence is associated with the virulence plasmid pKV7-vir, which carries numerous virulence factor genes. Multiple mobile genetic elements were also detected on pKV7-vir. Moreover, comparative genomic analysis of KV isolates from China and other countries was performed, laying a theoretical foundation for regional surveillance of this pathogen.

PMID:
42909073
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 23 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.