Antibiotic resistance profiles of seven genomospecies of Corynebacterium jeikeium analyzed by whole genome sequencing
Abstract
Corynebacterium jeikeium is an opportunistic human pathogen with high genomic diversity. In the past, multi-drug resistance has been considered a hallmark of C. jeikeium . However, some strains of C. jeikeium are fully susceptible and thus, their reclassification would avoid the empirical therapy with glycopeptides. One hundred eighty-six clinical isolates and four reference isolates identified as C. jeikeium between 1994–1999 and 2012–2019, respectively, were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequence analysis. A total of 153 confirmed C. jeikeium isolates was further analyzed by whole genome sequencing (WGS) and by disk diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). WGS and subsequent core genome single nucleotide polymorphism-based phylogenetic analysis segregated the isolates into seven phylogenetic clusters. The average nucleotide identity between the clusters was < 95%, qualifying them as separate C. jeikeium genomospecies. Overall, AST profiles of all 153 isolates were heterogeneous for six of the 16 antibiotics tested. Notably, genomospecies 6 and 7 displayed mainly comparably small inhibition zones. For the other 10 antibiotics, all genomospecies displayed either small or large inhibition zones, respectively. Our study of C. jeikeium clinical isolates revealed a relatively complex phylogenetic structure. As soon as clear phenotypic traits can be attributed to the seven genomospecies by routine diagnostic tests, genomospecies encompassing mainly antibiotic-susceptible strains should be reclassified to fine-tune potential treatment strategies.
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BibTeX
@article{fischerwellenborn2026antibiotic,
title = {{Antibiotic resistance profiles of seven genomospecies of Corynebacterium jeikeium analyzed by whole genome sequencing}},
author = {Michaela Fischer-Wellenborn and Frank Imkamp and Valéria Pereira Pires and Reinhard Zbinden and Nicolas Personnic},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1128/jcm.00418-25},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05394719v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Antibiotic resistance profiles of seven genomospecies of Corynebacterium jeikeium analyzed by whole genome sequencing
AU - Michaela Fischer-Wellenborn
AU - Frank Imkamp
AU - Valéria Pereira Pires
AU - Reinhard Zbinden
AU - Nicolas Personnic
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Journal of Clinical Microbiology
DO - 10.1128/jcm.00418-25
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05394719v1
AB - Corynebacterium jeikeium is an opportunistic human pathogen with high genomic diversity. In the past, multi-drug resistance has been considered a hallmark of C. jeikeium . However, some strains of C. jeikeium are fully susceptible and thus, their reclassification would avoid the empirical therapy with glycopeptides. One hundred eighty-six clinical isolates and four reference isolates identified as C. jeikeium between 1994–1999 and 2012–2019, respectively, were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequence analysis. A total of 153 confirmed C. jeikeium isolates was further analyzed by whole genome sequencing (WGS) and by disk diffusion antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). WGS and subsequent core genome single nucleotide polymorphism-based phylogenetic analysis segregated the isolates into seven phylogenetic clusters. The average nucleotide identity between the clusters was < 95%, qualifying them as separate C. jeikeium genomospecies. Overall, AST profiles of all 153 isolates were heterogeneous for six of the 16 antibiotics tested. Notably, genomospecies 6 and 7 displayed mainly comparably small inhibition zones. For the other 10 antibiotics, all genomospecies displayed either small or large inhibition zones, respectively. Our study of C. jeikeium clinical isolates revealed a relatively complex phylogenetic structure. As soon as clear phenotypic traits can be attributed to the seven genomospecies by routine diagnostic tests, genomospecies encompassing mainly antibiotic-susceptible strains should be reclassified to fine-tune potential treatment strategies.
SN - 0095-1137
ER -