INTRODUCTION: To address the escalating public health threat of hypervirulent and antibiotic-resistant (KP), we developed the Klebsiella pneumoniae Genome Database (KPGD; http://nmdc.cn/gcpathogen/kp) to strengthen global genomic surveillance of this pathogen.
METHODS: KPGD integrates 75,987 genome assemblies from 122 countries with standardized annotations of serotypes, sequence types, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), virulence factors (VFs), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). The platform offers interactive visualization modules and integrated analytical tools that enable real-time epidemiological monitoring and one-stop genomic analysis, thereby supporting global efforts to track the dissemination of resistant and hypervirulent KP (HvKp) and to inform infection control and antimicrobial stewardship strategies.
RESULTS: Longitudinal analyses revealed that the emergence of HvKp is driven by the sustained expansion of carbapenem-resistant high-risk lineages under selection pressure from restricted, higher-tier antibiotics. Conjugative ARG-bearing plasmids carrying key resistance determinants largely mediate this expansion. In contrast, selection by first-line, narrower-spectrum antibiotics appears to favor the dissemination of virulence plasmids (predominantly IncFIB types) as a compensatory mechanism to offset resistance-associated fitness costs.
CONCLUSION: These findings collectively underscore the need for surveillance systems that simultaneously monitor high-risk lineages and the dissemination of ARGs and VFs - particularly via self-transmissible plasmids - to better understand and anticipate bacterial adaptation under diverse antibiotic pressures.
