Cross-protection and cross-feeding between <em>Klebsiella pneumoniae </em>and <em>Acinetobacter baumannii </em>promotes their co-existance — ASN Events
  1. Schedule
  2. Concurrent Session - Antimicrobial Resistance Mechanisms
  3. Cross-protection and cross-feeding between Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii promotes their co-existance

Cross-protection and cross-feeding between Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii promotes their co-existance (94439)

Lucie Semenec 1 2 , Amy Cain 1 2 , Catherine Dawson 3 , Qi Liu 2 , Hue Dinh 1 2 , Hannah Lott 2 , Anahit Penesyan 1 2 , Ram Maharjan 1 2 , Francesca Short 4 , Karl Hassan 1 3 , Ian Paulsen 1 2
  1. ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde
  2. School of Natural Sciences , Macquarie University , North Ryde
  3. School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan
  4. Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton

Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae are opportunistic pathogens frequently co-isolated from polymicrobial infections. The infections where these pathogens co-exist can be more severe and recalcitrant to therapy than infections caused by either species alone, however there is a lack of knowledge on their potential synergistic interactions.  In this study we characterise the genomes of A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae strains co-isolated from a single human lung infection. We examine various aspects of their interactions through transcriptomic, phenomic and phenotypic assays that form a basis for understanding their effects on antimicrobial resistance and virulence during co-infection. Using co-culturing and analyses of secreted metabolites, we discover the ability of K. pneumoniae to cross-feed A. baumannii by-products of sugar fermentation. Minimum inhibitory concentration testing of mono- and co-cultures reveals the ability for A. baumannii to cross-protect K. pneumoniae against the cephalosporin, cefotaxime.  Our study demonstrates distinct syntrophic interactions occur between A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae, helping to elucidate the basis for their co-existence in polymicrobial infections.