Abstract
Klebsiella variicola is considered an emerging pathogen in humans and has been described in different environments. K. variicola belongs to Klebsiella pneumoniae complex, which has expanded the taxonomic classification and hindered epidemiological and evolutionary studies. The present work describes the molecular epidemiology of K. variicola based on MultiLocus Sequence Typing (MLST) developed for this purpose. In total, 226 genomes obtained from public data bases and 28 isolates were evaluated, which were mainly obtained from humans, followed by plants, various animals, the environment and insects. A total 166 distinct sequence types (STs) were identified, with 39 STs comprising at least two isolates. The molecular epidemiology of K. variicola showed a global distribution for some STs was observed, and in some cases, isolates obtained from different sources belong to the same ST. Several examples of isolates corresponding to kingdom-crossing bacteria from plants to humans were identified, establishing this as a possible route of transmission. goeBURST analysis identified Clonal Complex 1 (CC1) as the clone with the greatest distribution. Whole-genome sequencing of K. variicola isolates revealed extended-spectrum β-lactamase- and carbapenemase-producing strains with an increase in pathogenicity. MLST of K. variicola is a strong molecular epidemiological tool that allows following the evolution of this bacterial species obtained from different environments.