Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates in Jordan.

BACKGROUND

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is a significant cause of severe nosocomial infections in intensive care units (ICUs) worldwide. Various genotyping methods have been employed to study the epidemiology of CRAB.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the genetic diversity of CRAB clinical isolates and determine their relationships to previously reported genotypes in Jordan and the neighboring countries.

METHODS

A total of 107 archived CRAB clinical isolates were reactivated and analyzed using the multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) protocol. Descriptive bioinformatics and phylogenetic analyses were applied to the resulting sequence types (STs).

RESULTS

MLST identified 11 STs, including three novel STs (ST2528, ST2529, and ST2530), five STs (ST2125, ST708, ST164, ST969, and ST717) were detected in Jordan for the first time, and three STs (ST2, ST600, and ST85) were previously reported in this country. The predominant ST was ST2125, followed by ST2, ST600, and ST85. In addition, while most alleles had been previously reported, three novel alleles (fusA444, fusA445, and recA502) were identified and annotated in PubMLST database. Quantitative bioinformatics analysis revealed a sequence diversity of 0.6 % to 1.6 %, with 1 to 6 polymorphic sites at the allelic genotype level. Phylogenetic analysis of novel and existing STs exhibited genetic relationships with one another and with local STs previously identified in PubMLST database.

CONCLUSION

CRAB MLST underscores the importance of characterizing this pathogen's prevalence, monitoring its outbreak, and improving the clinical management of CRAB-associated infections.