LAUSR

OBJECTIVES To characterize a multidrug-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae strain (Kpn1693) isolated from the sputum of a 67-year male patient diagnosed as bronchiectasis with infection in Northern China. METHODS Drug susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution method, and the hypervirulent phenotype of the strain was analyzed by string test and mice systemic infection model. The whole genome of Kpn1693 was sequenced by PacBio Sequel platform, de novo assembly was performed using SMRT Link v5.0.1 software, and GeneMarkS program was used to retrieve the related coding gene. Incompatibility types, virulence-associated genes and antimicrobial resistance genes were searched for using PlasmidFinder database, virulence factors of pathogenic bacteria database (VFDB) and Comprehensive Antibiotic Research Database (CARD). The phylogenetic relationship of pKpn1693-CTXM with other IncFII plasmids carrying variants of blaCTX-M was analyzed by MEGA X software. RESULTS The Kpn1693 strain showed resistance to multiple antimicrobials, and a hypervirulent phenotype. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that Kpn1693 had a chromosome (cKpn1693) of 5,331,308 bp long, and harbored two plasmids of 192,347 bp (pK2044-like virulent plasmid, IncHI1B/IncFIB, pKpn1693-Vir) and 70,307 bp (blaCTX-M-24-bearing IncFII plasmid, IncFII, pKpn1693-CTXM). CONCLUSION We reported a multidrug-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) strain with a blaCTX-M-24 carrying IncFII-type plasmid and a pK2044-like virulent plasmid, and this is the first report of blaCTX-M-24-bearing IncFII plasmid carried by a multidrug-resistant hvKp.