{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T18:58:52Z","timestamp":1785437932876,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778544000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["82273588"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82273588"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["82273588"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82273588"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China","award":["825MS093"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["825MS093"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006606","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["25JCYBJC00240"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["25JCYBJC00240"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006606","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Microorganisms"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa is increasingly becoming a global health threat. However, although aquatic environments are key resistance reservoirs, data obtained from high-altitude ecosystems are scarce. Whole-genome sequencing of eight carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates collected from aquatic environments in the Tibetan Plateau identified three sequence types (STs), with ST1420 predominating (62.5%, 5\/8). Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close clustering of isolates with those from distant clinical settings, suggesting potential cross-habitat transmission. All studied strains were multidrug-resistant, exhibiting 100% resistance to imipenem, ceftriaxone, and trimethoprim\u2013sulfamethoxazole. This included the PA6 strain, which showed multiple-antibiotic resistance. Eight strains harbored the intrinsic carbapenemase gene blaOXA-50. The diverse virulence-gene profiles of strains PA2, PA4, and PA6 aligned with their high pathogenicity observed both in vitro and in vivo. However, virulence genotypes sometimes did not correlate with phenotypes, revealing the limitations of relying on static genetic information alone. This study highlights the aquatic environments of the Tibetan Plateau as reservoirs of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa with substantial genetic diversity and divergent pathogenic potential, underscoring their public-health relevance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms14051094","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T12:33:37Z","timestamp":1778589217000},"page":"1094","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Genomic and Phenotypic Insights into Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the Aquatic Environments of the Tibetan Plateau"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Dingxiang","family":"Lu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lin","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhongwei","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tianjiao","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0892-9212","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dong","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danyang","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuqing","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junwen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Haibei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6012-8466","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Min","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tianjin Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Tianjin 300050, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1211","DOI":"10.1007\/s10096-018-3244-4","article-title":"Molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in an endemic area: Comparison with global data","volume":"37","author":"Karampatakis","year":"2018","journal-title":"Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2025). Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report 2025: WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS), World Health Organization."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2","DOI":"10.1111\/lam.13340","article-title":"Antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in water","volume":"71","author":"Jackson","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lett. Appl. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2061","DOI":"10.1002\/etc.5704","article-title":"Antimicrobial Resistance in Exploited Estuaries: Some Overlooked Environmental Contaminants and Microbial Niches Might Act as Drivers","volume":"42","author":"Evariste","year":"2023","journal-title":"Environ. Toxicol. Chem."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5829","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jafc.6c01788","article-title":"The Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Agricultural Environments: Pesticides Are a Neglected Driving Factor","volume":"74","author":"Shi","year":"2026","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e114","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268825100332","article-title":"Worldwide threatening prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa","volume":"153","author":"Ahmadi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Epidemiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"116487","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jece.2025.116487","article-title":"W2O6\/CoFe2O4: An efficient catalyst to activate peroxymonosulfate for the elimination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes in aquaculture effluent","volume":"13","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Environ. Chem. Eng."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1583","DOI":"10.2147\/IDR.S253756","article-title":"Molecular Epidemiology of Carbapenemase-Producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from an Iranian University Hospital: Evidence for Spread of High-Risk Clones","volume":"13","author":"Afshar","year":"2020","journal-title":"Infect. Drug Resist."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113928","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoenv.2022.113928","article-title":"Occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk of psychoactive substances in typical lakes and rivers in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau","volume":"242","author":"Liu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e13827","DOI":"10.1111\/1755-0998.13827","article-title":"Roof of the world: Home and border in the genomic era","volume":"25","author":"Da","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mol. Ecol. Resour."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, H., and Song, W. (2021). Spatiotemporal Distribution and Influencing Factors of Ecosystem Vulnerability on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18126508"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169825","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2023.169825","article-title":"Interactive effects of climate-atmospheric cycling on aquatic communities and ecosystem shifts in mountain lakes of southeastern Tibetan Plateau","volume":"914","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0115822","DOI":"10.1128\/spectrum.01158-22","article-title":"A Multicenter Comparison of Carbapenem-Nonsusceptible Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Rates in the US (2016 to 2020): Facility-Reported Rates versus Rates Based on Updated Clinical Laboratory and Standards Institute Breakpoints","volume":"10","author":"Gupta","year":"2022","journal-title":"Microbiol. Spectr."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"891","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0463.2007.apm_630.x","article-title":"Quantification of biofilm in microtiter plates: Overview of testing conditions and practical recommendations for assessment of biofilm production by staphylococci","volume":"115","author":"Hola","year":"2007","journal-title":"Apmis"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ganbold, M., Seo, J., Wi, Y.M., Kwon, K.T., and Ko, K.S. (2023). Species identification, antibiotic resistance, and virulence in Enterobacter cloacae complex clinical isolates from South Korea. Front. Microbiol., 14.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2023.1122691"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, S., Chen, L., Wang, L., Zhou, B., Ye, D., Zheng, X., Lin, Y., Zeng, W., Zhou, T., and Ye, J. (2022). Cluster Differences in Antibiotic Resistance, Biofilm Formation, Mobility, and Virulence of Clinical Enterobacter cloacae Complex. Front. Microbiol., 13.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2022.814831"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"713","DOI":"10.1093\/bioinformatics\/btn025","article-title":"SOAP: Short oligonucleotide alignment program","volume":"24","author":"Li","year":"2008","journal-title":"Bioinformatics"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"455","DOI":"10.1089\/cmb.2012.0021","article-title":"SPAdes: A New Genome Assembly Algorithm and Its Applications to Single-Cell Sequencing","volume":"19","author":"Bankevich","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Comput. Biol."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1117","DOI":"10.1101\/gr.089532.108","article-title":"ABySS: A parallel assembler for short read sequence data","volume":"19","author":"Simpson","year":"2009","journal-title":"Genome Res."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lin, S.-H., and Liao, Y.-C. (2013). CISA: Contig Integrator for Sequence Assembly of Bacterial Genomes. PLoS ONE, 8.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0060843"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kowalewski, J., Tomaszczyk, M., Guichou, J.-F., Gelin, M., Labesse, G., and Lionne, C. (2025). Structural and molecular basis of resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics by APH(3\u2019)-IIb from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. bioRxiv.","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.03.30.646141"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1790","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cmi.2025.03.013","article-title":"Emerging resistance mechanisms to newer \u03b2-lactams in Pseudomonas aeruginosa","volume":"31","author":"Antonio","year":"2025","journal-title":"Clin. Microbiol. Infect."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"711","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.mi.49.100195.003431","article-title":"Microbial biofilms","volume":"49","author":"Costerton","year":"1995","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16411","DOI":"10.1074\/jbc.RA119.012102","article-title":"Global reprogramming of virulence and antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by a single nucleotide polymorphism in elongation factor, fusA1","volume":"295","author":"Maunders","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Biol. Chem."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1007\/s10254-004-0031-7","article-title":"Pseudomonas aeruginosa ExoS and ExoT","volume":"152","author":"Barbieri","year":"2004","journal-title":"Rev. Physiol. Biochem. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1130","DOI":"10.3855\/jidc.17580","article-title":"Presence of T3SS (exoS, exoT, exoU and exoY), susceptibility pattern and MIC of MDR-Pseudomonas aeruginosa from burn wounds","volume":"17","author":"Ullah","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Infect. Dev. Ctries."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nolasco-Romero, C.G., Prado-Galbarro, F.J., Jimenez-Juarez, R.N., Gomez-Ramirez, U., Cancino-D\u00edaz, J.C., L\u00f3pez-Marceliano, B., Apodaca, M.R., Aguayo-Romero, M.A., Rodea, G.E., and Pichardo-Villalon, L. (2024). The exoS, exoT, exoU and exoY Virulotypes of the Type 3 Secretion System in Multidrug Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a Death Risk Factor in Pediatric Patients. Pathogens, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens13121030"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1884","DOI":"10.4049\/jimmunol.1102148","article-title":"ExoS and ExoT ADP ribosyltransferase activities mediate Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis by promoting neutrophil apoptosis and bacterial survival","volume":"188","author":"Sun","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tang, J., Pu, J., Zhao, L., Zhan, X., Pang, Q., Meng, X., Feng, R., and Fan, H. (2025). Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa T3SS virulence genes and correlation between virulence and drug resistance and molecular epidemiology studies. Front. Pharmacol., 16.","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2025.1591724"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"264","DOI":"10.1038\/s43856-024-00696-4","article-title":"Genomic virulence markers are associated with severe outcomes in patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bloodstream infection","volume":"4","author":"Valik","year":"2024","journal-title":"Commun. Med."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1154","DOI":"10.1038\/s41396-017-0042-4","article-title":"Deposition rates of viruses and bacteria above the atmospheric boundary layer","volume":"12","author":"Reche","year":"2018","journal-title":"ISME J."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139758","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.139758","article-title":"Migratory birds-one major source of environmental antibiotic resistance around Qinghai Lake, China","volume":"739","author":"Lin","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1038\/s41579-021-00649-x","article-title":"Antibiotic resistance in the environment","volume":"20","author":"Larsson","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"741","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcf.2015.04.004","article-title":"Proximity to blue spaces and risk of infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis: A case-control analysis","volume":"14","author":"Goeminne","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Cyst. Fibros."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"596","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaad.2007.04.004","article-title":"Hot tub folliculitis or hot hand-foot syndrome caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa","volume":"57","author":"Yu","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Am. Acad. Dermatol."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119166","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2024.119166","article-title":"Hospital wastewater as source of human pathogenic bacteria: A phenotypic and genomic analysis of international high-risk clone VIM-2-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa ST235\/O11","volume":"255","author":"Zagui","year":"2024","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Slekovec, C., Plantin, J., Cholley, P., Thouverez, M., Talon, D., Bertrand, X., and Hocquet, D. (2012). Tracking down antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in a wastewater network. PLoS ONE, 7.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0049300"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1186\/s40168-022-01250-x","article-title":"Antimicrobial resistance in Antarctica: Is it still a pristine environment?","volume":"10","author":"Hwengwere","year":"2022","journal-title":"Microbiome"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3145","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-020-60035-0","article-title":"Antibiotic resistance in bacterial isolates from freshwater samples in Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica","volume":"10","author":"Jara","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_40","first-page":"71","article-title":"Risk assessment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in water","volume":"201","author":"Mena","year":"2009","journal-title":"Rev. Environ. Contam. Toxicol."}],"container-title":["Microorganisms"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2607\/14\/5\/1094\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T04:19:22Z","timestamp":1778732362000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2607\/14\/5\/1094"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]]},"references-count":40,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]}},"alternative-id":["microorganisms14051094"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/microorganisms14051094","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2607"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2607","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]]}}}