ArticleNature communications2022
Adaptation to novel spatially-structured environments is driven by the capsule and alters virulence-associated traits.
Article in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hypermucoviscosity inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Review
- Rapid evolution of Klebsiella pneumoniae biofilms in vitro delineates adaptive changes selected during infection.Nature communications · 2026Article
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- Plug-and-play evolution of the Klebsiella pneumoniae capsule locus enables serotype exchange across genetic backgrounds.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- The acquisition ofmBio · 2026Article
- Emergence of hypervirulent and carbapenem-resistantFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- The acquisition ofbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- De novo mutations mediate phenotypic switching in an opportunistic human lung pathogen.Nature communications · 2025Article
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- Insertion sequences accelerate genomic convergence of multidrug resistance and hypervirulence in Klebsiella pneumoniae via capsular phase variation.Genome medicine · 2025Article
- Resource presentation dictates genetic and phenotypic adaptation in yeast.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Rapid and Integrated Bacterial Evolution Analysis unveils gene mutations and clinical risk of Klebsiella pneumoniae.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Presence of a biofilm beneficiary alters the evolutionary trajectory of a biofilm former.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- A reassessment of the infra-species diversity patterns in the wine-associatedFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Review
- Plasmid-encoded insertion sequences promote rapid adaptation in clinical enterobacteria.Nature ecology & evolution · 2024Article
- Article
- AI-2 quorum sensing-induced galactose metabolism activation in Streptococcus suis enhances capsular polysaccharide-associated virulence.Veterinary research · 2024Article
- Genetic barriers more than environmental associations explain Serratia marcescens population structure.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Bacterial capsules: Occurrence, mechanism, and function.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The extracellular capsule is a major virulence factor, but its ubiquity in free-living bacteria with large environmental breadths suggests that it shapes adaptation to novel niches. Yet, how it does so, remains unexplored. Here, we evolve three Klebsiella strains and their capsule mutants in parallel. Their comparison reveals different phenotypic and genotypic evolutionary changes that alter virulence-associated traits. Non-capsulated populations accumulate mutations that reduce exopolysaccharide production and increase biofilm formation and yield, whereas most capsulated populations become hypermucoviscous, a signature of hypervirulence. Hence, adaptation to novel environments primarily occurs by fine-tuning expression of the capsular locus. The same evolutionary conditions selecting for mutations in the capsular gene wzc leading to hypermucoviscosity also result in increased susceptibility to antibiotics by mutations in the ramA regulon. This implies that general adaptive processes outside the host can affect capsule evolution and its role in virulence and infection outcomes may be a by-product of such adaptation.
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