Biology subjects

Drobniewski, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Drobniewski, F..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Companion animals harbour globally circulating human-associated Klebsiella pneumoniae lineages and high-risk antimicrobial resistance clones

Companion animals are increasingly recognised within One Health antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) surveillance, yet the global genomic structure of dog- and cat-associated Klebsiella pneumoniae remains poorly defined. We assembled a global dataset of 712 domestic dog- and cat-derived K. pneumoniae genomes to define lineage diversity, AMR burden, host-associated patterns and overlap with human-associated populations. Companion-animal isolates comprised 263 sequence types (STs), but recurrent high-risk lineages, including ST307, ST11, ST15 and ST147, were prominent. Among 706 isolates from 25 countries, extended-spectrum {beta}-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase genes were widely distributed, detected in 303 (42.9%) and 98 (13.9%) isolates, respectively. Cat-derived isolates showed higher multidrug-resistance (MDR) prevalence than dog-derived isolates; 80.0% versus 56.3%, partly reflecting enrichment of epidemic clones, especially ST147. MDR was not confined to infection-associated samples, indicating that colonisation may represent an important reservoir state. Comparison with 38,106 human-associated K. pneumoniae isolates revealed extensive ST overlap, with 71.1% of companion-animal STs and 87.2% of companion-animal isolates belonging to STs also detected in humans. Focused recombination-filtered phylogenomics of ST147 identified a recent host-spanning MDR sub-lineage linking cat-, dog- and human-associated genomes. Together, these findings show that domestic dogs and cats are not epidemiologically separate from the wider K. pneumoniae AMR landscape, but harbour globally circulating human-associated lineages and high-risk AMR clones.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

KlebPhaCol: A community-driven resource for Klebsiella research identified a novel gut phage order associated with the human gut

The growing threat of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, coupled with its role in gut colonisation, has intensified the search for new treatments, including bacteriophage therapy. Despite increasing documentation of Klebsiella-targeting phages, clinical applications remain limited, with key phage-bacteria interactions still poorly understood. A major obstacle is fragmented access to well-characterised phage-bacteria pairings, restricting the collective advancement of therapeutic and mechanistic insights. To address this gap, we created the Klebsiella Phage Collection (KlebPhaCol), an open-source resource comprising 53 phages and 74 Klebsiella isolates, all fully characterised. These phages span five families - including a novel order, Felixvirales, associated with the human gut - and target 27 sequence types (including ST258, ST11, ST14) and 28 capsular-locus types (including KL1 and KL2), across six Klebsiella species. Freely accessible at www.klebphacol.org, KlebPhaCol invites the scientific community to both use and contribute to this resource, fostering collaborative research and a deeper understanding of Klebsiella-phage interactions beyond therapeutic use.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Genotypic clustering does not imply recent tuberculosis transmission in a high prevalence setting: A genomic epidemiology study in Lima, Peru

BackgroundWhole genome sequencing (WGS) can elucidate Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) transmission patterns but more data is needed to guide its use in high-burden settings. In a household-based transmissibility study of 4,000 TB patients in Lima, Peru, we identified a large MIRU-VNTR Mtb cluster with a range of resistance phenotypes and studied host and bacterial factors contributing to its spread.\n\nMethodsWGS was performed on 61 of 148 isolates in the cluster. We compared transmission link inference using epidemiological or genomic data with and without the inclusion of controversial variants, and estimated the dates of emergence of the cluster and antimicrobial drug resistance acquisition events by generating a time-calibrated phylogeny. We validated our findings in genomic data from an outbreak of 325 TB cases in London. Using a larger set of 12,032 public Mtb genomes, we determined bacterial factors characterizing this cluster and under positive selection in other Mtb lineages.\n\nFindingsFour isolates were distantly related and the remaining 57 isolates diverged ca. 1968 (95% HPD: 1945-1985). Isoniazid resistance arose once, whereas rifampicin resistance emerged subsequently at least three times. Amplification of other drug resistance occurred as recently as within the last year of sampling. High quality PE/PPE variants and indels added information for transmission inference. We identified five cluster-defining SNPs, including esxV S23L to be potentially contributing to transmissibility.\n\nInterpretationClusters defined by MIRU-VNTR typing, could be circulating for decades in a high-burden setting. WGS allows for an improved understanding of transmission, as well as bacterial resistance and fitness factors.\n\nFundingThe study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (Peru Epi study U19-AI076217 and K01-ES026835 to MRF). The funding sources had no role in any aspect of the study, manuscript or decision to submit it for publication.\n\nResearch in contextO_ST_ABSEvidence before this studyC_ST_ABSUse of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to study tuberculosis (TB) transmission has proven to have higher resolution that traditional typing methods in low-burden settings. The implications of its use in high-burden settings are not well understood.\n\nAdded value of this studyUsing WGS, we found that TB clusters defined by traditional typing methods may be circulating for several decades. Genomic regions typically excluded from WGS analysis contain large amount of genetic variation that may affect interpretation of transmission events. We also identified five bacterial mutations that may contribute to transmission fitness.\n\nImplications of all the available evidenceAdded value of WGS for understanding TB transmission may be even higher in high-burden vs. low-burden settings. Methods integrating variants found in polymorphic sites and insertions and deletions are likely to have higher resolution. Several host and bacterial factors may be responsible for higher transmissibility that can be targets of intervention to interrupt TB transmission in communities.

microbiology↗