Klebsiella

Metal Dependencies#

Iron: Klebsiella produces multiple siderophores—enterobactin, yersiniabactin (a dual iron/nickel metallophore), and salmochelin—giving it one of the most comprehensive iron acquisition toolkits among enteric pathogens.^{[1]Bushman 2025 — The Exploitation of Nutrient Metals by Bacteria for Survival and Infection in the GutSummer D Bushman, Eric P Skaar, N Luisa Hiller · 2025Open reference 1 ↓}

Nickel: NiFe hydrogenases support anaerobic hydrogen oxidation in the inflamed gut, providing competitive advantage.^{[2]Role of Nickel in Microbial PathogenesisRobert J. Maier, Stéphane L. Benoit · 2019Open reference 2 ↓[3]Nickel as a Catalytic Driver of Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Dietary Nickel, Microbial Metallomics, and the Activation of Nickel-Dependent Virulence Pathways in the Preterm GutKaren Pendergrass · 2026Open reference 3 ↓}

Manganese: Required for superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) defense against the oxidative burst.

cobalt (Co)-selection: Metal resistance genes co-located with carbapenem resistance on shared plasmids—environmental metal exposure drives the evolution of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella (CR-KP), one of the most urgent AMR threats globally.^{[4]Baker-Austin 2006 — Co-selection of Antibiotic and Metal ResistanceBaker-Austin C, Wright MS, Stepanauskas R et al. · 2006Open reference 4 ↓[5]Miranda 2022 — Characterization of Metal(loid)s and Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria of Human Gut Microbiota from CKD SubjectsMaría V. Miranda, Fernanda C. González, Osvaldo S. Paredes-Godoy et al. · 2022Open reference 5 ↓}

Dysbiosis Bloom#

Klebsiella expansion is part of the characteristic Enterobacteriaceae bloom during Metal-Driven Inflammation. IBD: Enriched alongside E. coli in both Crohn's and UC.^{[6]Khorsand 2022 — Overrepresentation of Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia coli is the major gut microbiome signature in Crohn's and UC: comprehensive metagenomic analysis of IBDMDB datasetsBabak Khorsand, Hamid Asadzadeh Aghdaei, Ehsan Nazemalhosseini-Mojarad et al. · 2022Open reference 6 ↓[7]Wang 2024 — Integrated 16S rRNA sequencing and metagenomics insights into microbial dysbiosis and distinct virulence factors in inflammatory bowel diseaseHaijing Wang, Yuanjun Wang, Libin Yang et al. · 2024Open reference 7 ↓}

NEC: Enriched in preterm infant gut before NEC onset; nickel in formula may fuel expansion.^{[3]Nickel as a Catalytic Driver of Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Dietary Nickel, Microbial Metallomics, and the Activation of Nickel-Dependent Virulence Pathways in the Preterm GutKaren Pendergrass · 2026Open reference 3 ↓} CKD: Part of uremic toxin-producing Enterobacteriaceae enrichment.^{[5]Miranda 2022 — Characterization of Metal(loid)s and Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria of Human Gut Microbiota from CKD SubjectsMaría V. Miranda, Fernanda C. González, Osvaldo S. Paredes-Godoy et al. · 2022Open reference 5 ↓}