First evidence of polar flagella in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from a patient with neonatal sepsis

J Med Microbiol. 2016 Aug;65(8):729-737. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.000291. Epub 2016 Jun 8.

Abstract

The genus Klebsiella belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae, and is currently considered to be non-motile and non-flagellated. In the present work, 25 Klebsiella strains isolated from nosocomial infections were assessed for motility under different growth conditions. One Klebsiella isolate, KpBUAP021, demonstrated a swim-like motility phenotype. The K. pneumoniae genotype was confirmed by 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequence analysis. Multilocus sequence typing analysis also revealed that the KpBUAP021 strain places it in the ST345 sequence type, and belongs to the phylogenetic Kpl group. Transmission electron microscopy and the Ryu staining technique revealed that KpBUAP021 expresses polar flagella. Finally, the presence of fliC, fliA and flgH genes in this K. pneumoniae strain was confirmed. This report presents the first evidence for flagella-mediated motility in a K. pneumoniae clinical isolate, and represents an important finding related to its evolution and pathogenic potential.

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • DNA, Ribosomal / chemistry
  • DNA, Ribosomal / genetics
  • DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / genetics
  • Flagella / ultrastructure*
  • Flagellin / genetics
  • Humans
  • Klebsiella Infections / microbiology*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / cytology*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / genetics
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / isolation & purification*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / physiology
  • Locomotion
  • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
  • Multilocus Sequence Typing
  • Neonatal Sepsis / microbiology*
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sigma Factor / genetics
  • Staining and Labeling

Substances

  • Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
  • Bacterial Proteins
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA, Ribosomal
  • FliA protein, Bacteria
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • Sigma Factor
  • Flagellin
  • DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases
  • RNA polymerase beta subunit