Genomic insights of beta-lactamase producing Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae belonging to sequence type 1699 from retail market fish, India

Klebsiella quasipneumoniae is a recently described species and often misidentified as Klebsiella pneumoniae . Here, we report the genomic characterization of Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae (India238 strain) isolated from fish. The annotated genome acknowledged the presence of bla CTX-M-15 , bla OKP-B-1 , fosA5, oqxAB and virulence genes. The strain with ST1699 and serotypes KL52 and OL103 also harboured insertion sequences (ISs): IS Kpn26 and IS Ec9 . Three complete phage genomes were identified in contigs 1 and 6 of the bacterial genome, enhancing the prospects of genome manipulation. The study highlights the pitfall of conventional microbiological identification methods to distinguish K. pneumoniae and K. quasipneumoniae . This is the first Indian study documenting the incidence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing K. quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae from a non-clinical environment, equipped with virulomes and associated mobile genetic elements. Given that fish can act as a potential vector for transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes, our findings have paramount importance on human health.