Researchers at Jodhpur’s IIT and AIIMS studied a dangerous bacterium called Klebsiella pneumoniae, a major cause of hospital-acquired infection, and found that it forms a viscous protective coating around itself, which is one of the main factors behind its high virulence and antibiotic resistance. The study, which is being carried out in collaboration with the Vellore Institute of Technology, uses genomics and molecular biology approaches to identify new genes responsible for bacterial potency.
The research was published in the journal “Microbiology Spectrum”. Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the pathogens on the priority list of the World Health Organization and is a significant cause of hospital-acquired diseases such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections and infections among NICU patients and newborns.
Because of its high virulence and resistance to antibiotics, the treatment and management of Klebsiella pneumoniae has challenged the medical and scientific community around the world, according to officials. “One of the ways Klebsiella pneumoniae escapes the body’s immune system and antibiotics is by forming an extremely sticky and viscous protective coating (hypermucosicity) around itself,” said Shankar Manoharan, assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, IIT Jodhpur.
Hypermucosviscosity can be identified by the string test, in which an applicator is used to touch a bacterial colony growing in a laboratory medium, which is then slowly lifted from the colony. If a sticky string of 5 mm or more extends from the colony to the applicator, the bacterium is hypermucosic and highly virulent.
“We are currently studying these mutants and disrupted genes to elucidate potentially new mechanisms behind this unusual sticky and viscous envelope of Klebsiella pneumoniae P-34. Such understanding will enable the development of methodologies to effectively control the spread of such strains and treat infections caused by them,” said Manoharan .
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