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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae
Etymology: Genus name: named after the German bacteriologist Edwin Klebs (1834-1913).
Species epithet: of pneumonia. Subspecies epithet: see Species epithet.
Significance:  [Very important]   
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Pseudomonadota
Class
Gammaproteobacteria
Order
Enterobacterales
Family
Enterobacteriaceae 
Genus
Klebsiella
Type Strain: ATCC 13883 = CCUG 225 = NCTC 9633.
Macromorphology (smell):
     
Grey, round, shiny and mucoid colonies (>3 mm in diameter), which can be confused with colonies of Enterobacter spp. Does not give hemolysis on blood agar.
Micromorphology: Nonmotile rods (0.3-1.0 x 0.6-6.0 µm), which appear singly, in pars or in short chains.
Gram +/Gram -:
 
G-
Metabolism: Facultatively anaerobic
Catalase/Oxidase:+/-
Other Enzymes: β-glucoronidase - (cf. E. coli spp.), DNase -, esculinase +, ornithine decarboxylase -, tryptophanase - (= indol -), urease +.
Biochemical Tests: Citrate +, hydrogen sulfide -, methyl red -, Voges-Proskauer +.
Fermentation of carbohydrates:
D-glucose
+
lactose
+
maltose
+
L-rhamnose
+
sucrose
+
L-arabinose
+
cellobiose
+
D-mannitol
+
salicin
+
trehalose
+
glycerol
+
inulin
?
raffinose
+
D-sorbitol
+
starch
?
Lactose + (although weaker than for instance E. coli). Ferments glucose under gas production.
Spec. Char.: K. pneumoniae can form about 80 different types of a capsule consisting of different variants of a polysaccharide.
Special Media:
Klebsiella pneumoniae  Klebsiella pneumoniae  Klebsiella pneumoniae  
Klebsiella pneumoniae  
SELMA- or SELMA Plus plates are used for milk samples and CLED agar for urine samples.
Disease:
HostsDiseaseClinical picture
CattleMastitisMostly acute, clinical mastitis, relatively uncommon in Sweden. May cause severe herd problems. Contagious via the environment, associated with bedding of sawdust
Cattle and horses (mostly <1 year)PneumoniaHemorrhagic nasal discharge
Horses (mares)EndometritisVulval discharge, subfertility or infertility. Can be transmitted during mating
DogsCystitisFrequently urination
HumansCystitis and pneumoniaUrinary tract infection. Bronchopneumonia and bronchitis, cough up spotum
Virulence Factors: LPS, capsule.
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_009648 MGH 78578 5 315 120 1c + 5c) 

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
AF130981 ATCC13883T 1 436 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
 
Within genus Klebsiella 13 species have been described. K. pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and is closely related to members of the genus Citrobacter. In fact, members of the genus Klebsiella and Citrobacter freundii form a monophyletic cluster (see Fig. 69:9 to the left).
Comment:Opportunistic
Updated:2023-03-29

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