Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41027917›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Parallel within-host evolution alters virulence factors in an opportunistic Klebsiella pneumoniae during a hospital outbreak.

Greta Zaborskytė, Karin Hjort, Birgitta Lytsy, Linus Sandegren

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Genetic Fingerprint ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2026
    Article
  4. Bacteriophage-induced outer membrane protein remodelling drives the phenotypic switching and antibiotic re-sensitization in Klebsiella pneumoniae.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Molecular Insights into Carbapenem Resistance inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. mSphere · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Greta ZaborskytėDepartment of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0164-3839
Karin HjortDepartment of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3326-8495
Birgitta LytsyDepartment of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1322-7744
Linus SandegrenDepartment of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. linus.sandegren@imbim.uu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7382-9782

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacterial pathogens adapt to host niches because of selective within-host pressures, an evolutionary process that offers invaluable insights into host-pathogen interactions. Here, we retrospectively track the evolution of a single multiresistant Klebsiella pneumoniae clone in 110 patients over a 5-year nosocomial outbreak. We combine comparative genomics with phenotypic characterization of mucoviscosity, serum survival, iron utilization, biofilm formation, and infection potential in Galleria mellonella for all isolates. Strong positive selection within patients targeted key virulence factors. Notably, convergent evolutionary trajectories were dominated by reduced acute virulence and recurrent changes in iron uptake regulation, capsule and lipopolysaccharide, and enhanced biofilm formation. These phenotypic changes likely represent clinical niche adaptations, with some resulting in trade-offs during gastrointestinal colonization. This study underscores the dynamic nature of within-host evolution and its role in shaping virulence in opportunistic pathogens, even on short time scales.

Indexed as

Cross InfectionDisease OutbreaksKlebsiella InfectionsKlebsiella pneumoniaeVirulence FactorsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBiofilmsBiological EvolutionDrug Resistance, Multiple, BacterialFemaleHospitalsHost-Pathogen InteractionsHumansIronIronVirulence Factors

Identifiers

PMID41027917
PMCPMC12485182

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.