Antibiotics are a lifesaving tool. Yet, due to their chronic overuse, microbes are evolving and developing immunity against them. As a result, once-effective medications can no longer stave off infections, complicating treatment and increasing mortality.

A University at Albany study recently published in the journal Nature Communications identified a new genetic mechanism that allows antimicrobial resistance to spread among lethal bacteria.

The bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae is the third leading cause of blood infections globally. Commonly found on human mucosal surfaces like the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract, when given an opportunity to invade, the bacteria can cause pneumonia and serious blood and urinary tract infections. These infections can trigger a powerful immune response that can lead to organ failure and death.

"We know that many medically important bacteria are no longer responding to antibiotics, and some are resistant to multiple drugs," said co-author Cheryl Andam, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the RNA Institute.

"In this study, with physicians at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, we sought to understand the genetic factors that enable Klebsiella pneumoniae to develop antimicrobial resistance by analyzing the genome sequences of the bacteria from patients diagnosed with bloodstream infections. This work gives a window into how these bacteria develop resistance genes and spread them through a population."

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