Emergence of hypermucoviscous colistin-resistant high-risk convergent ST-2096 clone from Pakistan.

convergent clones are considered a threat to healthcare settings. Here we report a comprehensive genomic profiling of an emerging colistin-resistant ST-2096 convergent clone from Pakistan. Whole-genome sequencing was performed and raw reads were assembled antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes were predicted using various online tools. The phenotypically multidrug-resistant (MDR) and hypermucoviscous (hv) colistin-resistant (hvCRKP-10718), which, intriguingly, possessed a wide range of antimicrobial resistance (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ) and virulence determinants (, yersiniabactin [], aerobactin [], enterobactin). Furthermore, the acquisition of various mobile genetic elements (MDR/virulent plasmids, type II integron gene cassette, insertional sequences, transposases) and associated hv capsular type made this MDR/hv isolate a convergent clone belonging to a high-risk lineage (ST-2096). Based on core-genome multilocus sequence typing and single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis, this isolate showed ≥99% nucleotide identity with MDR isolates from India, depicting its evolutionary background. This study provides a comprehensive genomic profiling of this high-risk convergent ST-2096 clone from Pakistan. Comparative genomics of MDR/hv colistin-resistant isolates with other MDR convergent strains from the Indian subcontinent indicated the emergence of this evolving superbug.