Background: Plasmids play an vital role in driving the rapid global spread of antimicrobial resistance and adaptation to changing ambient conditions. It has been suggested that the presence of plasmids can pose tremendous impacts on the host physiology. However, little is known regarding the contributions of carbapenemase-encoding plasmid carriage on the physiology and pathogenicity of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKP).
Results: Here we performed a transcriptomic analysis of hvKP with or without carbapenemase-encoding plasmid p24835-NDM5. The results had shown 683 genes with differential expression (false discovery rate, ≤0.001; > 2-fold change), of which 107 were up-regulated and 576 were down-regulated. Gene groups with functions relating to carbohydrate metabolism and multidrug efflux system were increased in genes with increased expression, and those relating to capsule biosynthesis and virulence factors were increased in the genes with decreased expression. In agreement with these changes, survival rate of TfpNDM-hvKP in the presence of normal human serum decreased, and competitive index (CI values) indicated significant fitness defects in the plasmid-carrying hvKP strain when co-cultured with its plasmid-free isogenic ancestor and the ATCC control. Moreover, the p24835-NDM5-containing hvKP strain retained its high neutrophil-mediated phagocytosis and murine lethality.
Conclusion: These data indicate that hvKP responds to carbapenemase-encoding plasmid by altering the expression of genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, antibiotic resistance, capsule biosynthesis and virulence expression. Apart from antibiotic resistance selective advantages, carbapenemase-encoding plasmid carriage may also lead to virulence change or adaption to specific habitats in hvKP strain.
Keywords: Carbapenemase plasmid; Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae; RNA-Seq technique; Transcriptomic analysis.