Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clades

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is an important threat to hospitalized patients. The virulence of A. baumannii varies between strains and geographic locations, which is believed to be related to its genetic plasticity. A comprehensive evaluation of virulence factor (VF) content o...

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Main Authors: Mor N. Lurie-Weinberger, Adi Cohen, Hadas Kon, Ophir Kastel, Alona Keren-Paz, David Schwartz, Jonathan Lellouche, Amir Nutman, Sammy Frenk, Vered Schechner, Elizabeth Temkin, Lena E. Friberg, George L. Daikos, Anna Skiada, Emanuele Durante-Mangoni, Dafna Yahav, Leonard Leibovici, Yaakov Dickstein, Yael Dishon Benattar, Mical Paul, Yehuda Carmeli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Virulence
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21505594.2025.2542489
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author Mor N. Lurie-Weinberger
Adi Cohen
Hadas Kon
Ophir Kastel
Alona Keren-Paz
David Schwartz
Jonathan Lellouche
Amir Nutman
Sammy Frenk
Vered Schechner
Elizabeth Temkin
Lena E. Friberg
George L. Daikos
Anna Skiada
Emanuele Durante-Mangoni
Dafna Yahav
Leonard Leibovici
Yaakov Dickstein
Yael Dishon Benattar
Mical Paul
Yehuda Carmeli
author_facet Mor N. Lurie-Weinberger
Adi Cohen
Hadas Kon
Ophir Kastel
Alona Keren-Paz
David Schwartz
Jonathan Lellouche
Amir Nutman
Sammy Frenk
Vered Schechner
Elizabeth Temkin
Lena E. Friberg
George L. Daikos
Anna Skiada
Emanuele Durante-Mangoni
Dafna Yahav
Leonard Leibovici
Yaakov Dickstein
Yael Dishon Benattar
Mical Paul
Yehuda Carmeli
author_sort Mor N. Lurie-Weinberger
collection DOAJ
description Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is an important threat to hospitalized patients. The virulence of A. baumannii varies between strains and geographic locations, which is believed to be related to its genetic plasticity. A comprehensive evaluation of virulence factor (VF) content of CRAB across genetically related clones is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to determine the evolution of VFs among 246 CRAB isolates belonging to major STs, ST2 and ST3. We used WGS to assess 136 VFs and found that 110 VFs were present in most isolates (49 VFs were universally present, 61 were ubiquitous) and 25 occurred sporadically. The distribution of the 25 sporadic VF genes was homogenous in ST3 but heterogeneous in ST2. Within ST2, we found high intra-clade homogeneity and high inter-clade heterogeneity of VFs. The homogeneity of VF content in ST2 clades and its uniformity in ST3 suggest a distant evolutionary segregation of VFs at the root of ST/clade divergence. VF content reflects remote events resulting in minimal variation between isolates belonging to the same ST/clade. Thus, the alleged differences in virulence of CRAB strains between geographical locations reflect differences in clonal distribution.
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series Virulence
spelling doaj-art-9956c79c53a0470895bf6bb9e0aa3f0f2025-08-24T16:23:23ZengTaylor & Francis GroupVirulence2150-55942150-56082025-12-0116110.1080/21505594.2025.2542489Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii cladesMor N. Lurie-Weinberger0Adi Cohen1Hadas Kon2Ophir Kastel3Alona Keren-Paz4David Schwartz5Jonathan Lellouche6Amir Nutman7Sammy Frenk8Vered Schechner9Elizabeth Temkin10Lena E. Friberg11George L. Daikos12Anna Skiada13Emanuele Durante-Mangoni14Dafna Yahav15Leonard Leibovici16Yaakov Dickstein17Yael Dishon Benattar18Mical Paul19Yehuda Carmeli20National Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SwedenFirst Department of Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, Athens, GreeceFirst Department of Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, Athens, GreeceDepartment of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Napoli, ItalyFaculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelFaculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelInstitute of Infectious Diseases, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelInstitute of Infectious Diseases, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelNational Institute for Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Aviv, IsraelCarbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is an important threat to hospitalized patients. The virulence of A. baumannii varies between strains and geographic locations, which is believed to be related to its genetic plasticity. A comprehensive evaluation of virulence factor (VF) content of CRAB across genetically related clones is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to determine the evolution of VFs among 246 CRAB isolates belonging to major STs, ST2 and ST3. We used WGS to assess 136 VFs and found that 110 VFs were present in most isolates (49 VFs were universally present, 61 were ubiquitous) and 25 occurred sporadically. The distribution of the 25 sporadic VF genes was homogenous in ST3 but heterogeneous in ST2. Within ST2, we found high intra-clade homogeneity and high inter-clade heterogeneity of VFs. The homogeneity of VF content in ST2 clades and its uniformity in ST3 suggest a distant evolutionary segregation of VFs at the root of ST/clade divergence. VF content reflects remote events resulting in minimal variation between isolates belonging to the same ST/clade. Thus, the alleged differences in virulence of CRAB strains between geographical locations reflect differences in clonal distribution.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21505594.2025.2542489Acinetobacter baumanniiantibiotic resistancecarbapenem resistancevirulence factorsevolution
spellingShingle Mor N. Lurie-Weinberger
Adi Cohen
Hadas Kon
Ophir Kastel
Alona Keren-Paz
David Schwartz
Jonathan Lellouche
Amir Nutman
Sammy Frenk
Vered Schechner
Elizabeth Temkin
Lena E. Friberg
George L. Daikos
Anna Skiada
Emanuele Durante-Mangoni
Dafna Yahav
Leonard Leibovici
Yaakov Dickstein
Yael Dishon Benattar
Mical Paul
Yehuda Carmeli
Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clades
Virulence
Acinetobacter baumannii
antibiotic resistance
carbapenem resistance
virulence factors
evolution
title Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clades
title_full Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clades
title_fullStr Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clades
title_full_unstemmed Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clades
title_short Virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clades
title_sort virulence factors are preserved within carbapenem resistant acinetobacter baumannii clades
topic Acinetobacter baumannii
antibiotic resistance
carbapenem resistance
virulence factors
evolution
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21505594.2025.2542489
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