Analysis of the genome data of Acinetobacter baumannii UOL-KIMZ-24, exhibiting multiple drug resistance through efflux pumps

<i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> is a well-known opportunistic pathogen, responsible for various nosocomial infections. <i>A. baumannii</i> UOL-KIMZ-24 was previously isolated from a clinical specimen, collected from Lahore General Hospital, Lahore (LGH), Pakistan, dated 3rd March, 2022. During the initial screening for antimicrobial susceptibility, the UOL-KIMZ-24 was found a multiple drug resistant (MDR) strain. However, the detailed genomic insights for genes e.g. responsible for exhibiting antibiotic resistance via efflux pumps, have not yet been reported from <i>A. baumannii</i> strains, recovered from LGH. The current research to fills this gap by isolating, whole genome sequencing and subsequent post-sequencing analysis for addressing and identifying the efflux pumps associated genes, responsible for multiple drug resistant in <i>A. baumannii</i>. In a hybrid approach, short reads were processed through Illumina platform, while long reads were sequenced by MinION MK1B sequencing technique. The assembled and annotated genome of the UOL-KIMZ-24 revealed that it has 4048631 bp genome size with 179 contigs, 38.9 % GC content, 3628 protein coding sequences, 80 tRNA and 7 rRNA. The analysis of antibiotic-resistance genes (AMR) depicted 27 genes. where the genes encoding efflux pumps such as <i>adeABC, adeRS, adeJK</i>, and <i>adeMN</i> were the more prominent. In addition, sequence typing (ST) study showed that UOL-KIMZ-24 strain lies in ST2, six prophage sequences and 73 virulence factors were also identified in the studied UOL-KIMZ-24. Such an all-inclusive study uncovered the genetic flexibility of UOL-KIMZ-24 genome for acquiring MDR against in-practice antibiotics.