LAUSR

IntroductionGenotype and metabolomic variation are important for bacterial survival and adaptation to environmental changes.ObjectivesIn this study, we compared the relationship among Klebsiella pneumoniae strains based on their genotypic and metabolic profiles. In addition, we also evaluated the association of the relationship with beta-lactamase production.MethodsA total of 53 K. pneumoniae strains isolated in 2013–2014 from a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) via disk diffusion method and beta-lactamase production confirmation. The bacterial strains were also typed genotypically and metabolically via REP-PCR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy respectively. The concordance of the matrices derived based on genotypic and metabolic characterization was measured based on Spearman’s rank correlation.ResultsSpearman’s correlation rank showed that there is a weak but significant negative correlation between the genetic fingerprints and metabolic profiles of K. pneumoniae. Specifically, K. pneumoniae strains were clustered into five major clusters based on REP-PCR where most of the carbapenem resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP) strains made up the major cluster. In contrast, metabolic patterns of the three groups (i.e. CRKP, extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing K. pneumoniae (ESBL), susceptible) of K. pneumoniae were clearly differentiated on PLS-DA score plots derived from 1H-NMR spectroscopy.ConclusionOverall, this study showed that metabolomic profiling using 1H-NMR spectroscopy is able to discriminate K. pneumoniae strains based on their beta-lactamase production status.