Diversity of the Genetic Environment of the bla KPC-2 Gene Among Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates in a Chinese Hospital

Abstract

KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) has been frequently reported worldwide and constitutes a major healthcare threat, given their extensively drug-resistant phenotypes. In this study, we report the characterization of the genetic environment of bla_KPC-2 gene in KPC-Kp clinical strains from China belonging to diverse genotypes. Thirty-five nonduplicated KPC-Kp isolates collected in a Chinese hospital during 2012 were analyzed. All were multidrug resistant due to the presence of other resistance determinants, including metallo-β-lactamases (IMP-4, NDM-1), extended-spectrum β-lactamases (CTX-M-14, -15, -3, -10, and SHV-12), 16S rRNA methylases (armA and rmtB), and plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance determinants [qnrA, B, S, aac(6′)-Ib-cr]. Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), the 35 isolates were grouped into 12 clusters that were further identified as 15 sequence types (STs) by multilocus sequence typing. ST11 K. pneumoniae was the predominant clone attributed to the outbreak. bla_KPC-2 was carried in plasmids of various sizes and incompatibility types. The genetic environment analysis, based on genetic structure in the plasmid pKP048, revealed five distinct platforms: the most prevalent structure was the continual occurrence in diverse STs (ST11, ST258, ST340, ST395, ST437, and ST494), harboring plasmid of bla_KPC-2 in a genetic environment flanked by ISKpn8 and ISKpn6 like. This study highlights the continued evolution of the genetic environment of the bla_KPC-2 gene in our hospital and movement to multiple plasmid backbones that results in acquisition by multiple clones of K. pneumoniae.