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Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Transfer
The horizontal spreading of plasmids by Klebsiella pneumoniae is a very important research area. This is because of its high amount of Anti-microbial resistance genes (AMR genes). Klebsiella pneumoniae genes become so resistant by absorbing plasmids from their surroundings and then carrying those AMR genes before disseminating those genes to other bacteria in a new environment. It is the donation of these plasmids to other human pathogens that causes problems. One human pathogen commonly that acquires AMR genes from Klebsiella Pneumonia is Salmonella, but there are other human pathogens that it is transferred to also. It is important that these AMR genes that are commonly transferred to possible human pathogens be studied. This could help with treatment of salmonella infections due to having knowledge of possible antibiotic resistance data.

The majority of AMR genes in Klebsiella Pneumonia are plasmid-borne. This leads scientists to believe that its ability to spread AMR genes to other niches in the environment would be linked to its plasmid-permissive traits. An example of a niche would be soil, often considered a hotspot for gene transfer. Because Klebsiella Pneumonia has an elevated plasmid-load it may be more capable of absorbing more AMR genes as well as releasing them back into new environments.

This data shows the increase in both AMR genes and plasmids compared to other common bacteria species.

Related pages

 * Klebsiella pneumoniae