{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,19]],"date-time":"2026-10-19T19:57:25Z","timestamp":1792439845688,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,13]],"date-time":"2025-10-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1760313600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study reports a rare case of dual-strain Klebsiella pneumoniae infection involving genetically distinct isolates from the lung and eye of a previously immunocompetent patient.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A rapid nanopore sequencing workflow on the Gseq-500 platform was used for whole-genome and plasmid sequencing. Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses assessed isolate relatedness and identified virulence and resistance determinants.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The lung isolate (KP-L) belonged to the hypervirulent ST23\/KL1 lineage and carried a large non-conjugative plasmid encoding rmpA, rmpA2, iuc, iro, and peg-344, together with chromosomal yersiniabactin. In contrast, the eye isolate (KP-E) was a classical ST133\/KL116 strain lacking known hypervirulence markers but harboring plasmids encoding heavy-metal resistance genes. Despite the absence of hypervirulence factors, KP-E caused severe endophthalmitis requiring enucleation, underscoring the pathogenic potential of classical strains in immune-privileged sites. Comparative genomic and phylogenetic analyses confirmed that the two isolates were not clonally related.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>We propose a plausible infection trajectory involving initial hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKp) dissemination followed by niche-specific replacement by Classical K. pneumoniae (cKp) under antibiotic pressure. This case underscores that severe infections can arise from genetically \u201clow-virulence\u201d strains in certain host environments. Comprehensive genomic surveillance and aggressive clinical management strategies remain crucial for improving patient prognosis and understanding pathogen adaptation mechanisms within host niches.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2025.1633833","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,13]],"date-time":"2025-10-13T07:33:42Z","timestamp":1760340822000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Concurrent classical and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in distinct host niches revealed by a rapid nanopore whole-genome and plasmid sequencing method"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Lu","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiqi","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zizhen","family":"Tang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuyun","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuanqing","family":"Qu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danli","family":"Wen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiulei","family":"Zhong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huan","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuan","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miao","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"D517","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/gkz935","article-title":"CARD 2020: antibiotic resistome surveillance with the comprehensive antibiotic resistance database","volume":"48","author":"Alcock","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nucleic Acids Res."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/AAC.00764-18","article-title":"In silico typing and comparative genomic analysis of incFII(K) plasmids and insights into the evolution of replicons, plasmid backbones, and resistance determinant profiles","volume":"62","author":"Bi","year":"2018","journal-title":"Antimicrob. 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