Item Details

title

ROLE OF FUCOSE UTILIZATION ON KLEBSIELLA PNEUMONIAE GUT COLONIZATION AND PATHOGENESIS

author

Hudson, Andrew Wesley

abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a leading cause of nosocomial infections in the U.S., owing to its broad antibiotic resistance and many potential infection sites. K. pneumoniae colonizes the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract asymptomatically, from where it can translocate within a host or transmit to another. While poorly understood, knowledge of this first step toward infection and spread is critical for combatting K. pneumoniae’s pathogenesis and transmission. To colonize the gut, K. pneumoniae must overcome colonization resistance provided by the host microbiota in the form of nutrient competition. Enteric pathogens are known to metabolize fucose, present in intestinal mucus, to avoid competition and successfully colonize. Using our murine model for K. pneumoniae GI colonization, we show that fucose metabolism is critical for K. pneumoniae to acquire a metabolic niche, bypass colonization resistance, and establish itself in the gut. Because alternative nutrient sources can allow pathogens to coordinate virulence, we investigated the role of fucose utilization on several established virulence phenotypes and observed positive modulation of hypermucoviscosity, autoaggregation, and biofilm formation. These insights lend a stronger understanding of the role of alternative carbon sources on K. pneumoniae GI colonization, as well as the complex relationship between metabolism and virulence in this important pathogen.

subject

Biofilm

Colonization Resistance

Enteric Pathogen

Fucose

Klebsiella pneumoniae

Virulence

contributor

Zafar, Muhammad A (committee chair)

Zafar, Muhammad A (committee member)

Walker, Kimberly A (committee member)

Grayson, Jason M (committee member)

date

2022-05-24T08:36:20Z (accessioned)

2022-11-23T09:30:13Z (available)

2022 (issued)

degree

Biomedical Science – MS (discipline)

embargo

2022-11-23 (terms)

identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/100784 (uri)

language

en (iso)

publisher

Wake Forest University

type

Thesis