Klebsiella pneumoniae

The K. pneumoniae species comprises three subspecies K. pneumoniae subsp. ozaenae, K. pneumoniae subsps. rhinoscleromatis and K. pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae.

K. pneumoniae, specially the K1 and K2 serotypes, are responsible of pneumonia, septicemia, nosocomial and urinary tract infections. K. ozaenae causes ozaenae, an atrophic rhinitis and K. rhinoscleromatis is responsible of rhinoscleroma, a chronic granumolatous infection of the upper airways. Although very closely related, these three subspecies cause in the airways very different pathologies with different virulence.

A comparative analysis from several clinical isolates showed that these can be grouped into different clonal complexes [1]. The genome sequences from three strains, two of those belonging to major clonal complexes, are known [2]. However, the specific virulence factors for these three subspecies and different clonal complexes are not known.

By sequencing four additional representative strains (3 K. pneumoniae et 1 K. ozaenae) and performing a comparative genomic analysis, we aim to identify virulence factors specific for each subspecies and clonal complexes most virulent in humans.