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International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2023Misuse and abuse of antibiotics on humans, cattle, and crops have led to the selection of multi-resistant pathogenic bacteria, the most feared 'superbugs'. Infections... (Review)
Review
Misuse and abuse of antibiotics on humans, cattle, and crops have led to the selection of multi-resistant pathogenic bacteria, the most feared 'superbugs'. Infections caused by superbugs are progressively difficult to treat, with a subsequent increase in lethality: the toll on human lives is predicted to reach 10 million by 2050. Here we review three concepts linked to the growing resistance to antibiotics, namely (i) the , which refers to the collection of bacterial genes that confer resistance to antibiotics, (ii) the , which includes all the mobile genetic elements that participate in the spreading of antibiotic resistance among bacteria by horizontal gene transfer processes, and (iii) the , which refers to the set of genes that are expressed when bacteria try to colonize new niches. We also discuss the strategies that can be used to tackle bacterial infections and propose an with the bacterial world so that instead of war and destruction of the 'fierce enemy' we can achieve a peaceful coexistence (the concept) between the human and the bacterial worlds. This, in turn, will contribute to microbial biodiversity, which is crucial in a globally changing climate due to anthropogenic activities.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Cattle; Bacteria; Genes, Bacterial; Bacterial Infections; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Bacterial
PubMed: 37894729
DOI: 10.3390/ijms242015047 -
Archives of Microbiology Oct 2023The emergence and transmission of antibiotic resistance is a global public health crisis with significant burden on healthcare systems, resulting in high mortality and... (Review)
Review
The emergence and transmission of antibiotic resistance is a global public health crisis with significant burden on healthcare systems, resulting in high mortality and economic costs. In 2019, almost five million deaths were associated with drug-resistant infections, and if left unchecked, the global economy could lose $100 trillion by 2050. To effectively combat this crisis, it is essential for all countries to understand the current situation of antibiotic resistance. In this review, we examine the current driving factors leading to the crisis, impact of critical superbugs in three regions, and identify novel mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. It is crucial to monitor the phenotypic characteristics of drug-resistant pathogens and describe the mechanisms involved in preventing the emergence of cross-resistance to novel antimicrobials. Additionally, maintaining an active pipeline of new antibiotics is essential for fighting against diverse antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Developing antibacterial agents with novel mechanisms of action is a promising way to combat increasing antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Microbial
PubMed: 37863957
DOI: 10.1007/s00203-023-03699-2 -
The Science of the Total Environment Oct 2023Paddy irrigation with secondary effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) is a well-established practice to alleviate water scarcity. However, the...
Paddy irrigation with secondary effluents from municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) is a well-established practice to alleviate water scarcity. However, the reuse might lead to more complicated contamination caused by interactions between residual antibiotics in effluents and heavy metals in paddy soil. To date, no information is available for the potential effects of dual stress of heavy metals and antibiotics on heavy-metal resistance genes (MRGs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here, this study investigated the response of heavy metal and antibiotic resistance genes, and related microorganisms to the dual threat of antibiotics and heavy metals under the long-term MWTP effluent irrigation for rice paddy using metagenome. The results showed that there was not a negative effect on rice consumption if MWTP effluent was used to irrigate rice for a long time. The concentration of antibiotics could reshape the ARGs and MRG profiles in rice paddy soil. The findings revealed the co-occurrence of ARGs and MRGs in rice paddy soils, thus highlighting the need for simultaneous elimination of antibiotics and heavy metals to effectively reduce ARGs and MRGs. Acn and sul1 genes encoding Iron and sulfonamides resistance mechanisms are the most abundant MRG and ARG, respectively. Network analysis revealed the possibility that IntI1 plays a role in the co-transmission of MRG and ARG to host microbes, and that Proteobacteria are the most dominant hosts for MRG, ARG, and integrons. The presence of antibiotics in irrigated MWTP effluents has been found to stimulate the proliferation of heavy metal and antibiotic resistances by altering soil microbial communities. This study will enhance our comprehension of the co-selection between ARGs and MRGs, as well as reveal the concealed environmental impacts of combined pollution. The obtained results have important implications for food safety and human health in rice.
Topics: Humans; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Wastewater; Oryza; Genes, Bacterial; Metals, Heavy; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Soil
PubMed: 37406708
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165249 -
Letters in Applied Microbiology Aug 2023Class A biosolids is a treated sewage sludge, commonly applied to agricultural fields, home lawns/gardens, golf courses, forests, and remediation sites around the world....
Class A biosolids is a treated sewage sludge, commonly applied to agricultural fields, home lawns/gardens, golf courses, forests, and remediation sites around the world. This practice is of public and agricultural concern due to the possibility that biosolids contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungal pathogens that could persist for extended periods in soil. This possibility was determined by metatranscriptomic analysis of virulence, antibiotic resistance, and plasmid conjugation genes, a Class A biosolids, organically managed soil, and biosolids-amended soil under realistic conditions. Biosolids harbored numerous transcriptionally active pathogens, antibiotic resistance genes, and conjugative genes that annotated mostly to Gram-positive pathogens of animal hosts. Biosolids amendment to soil significantly increased the expression of virulence genes by numerous pathogens and antibiotic-resistant genes that were strongly associated with biosolids. Biosolids amendment also significantly increased the expression of virulence genes by native soil fungal pathogens of plant hosts, which suggests higher risks of crop damage by soil fungal pathogens in biosolids-amended soil. Although results are likely to be different in other soils, biosolids, and microbial growth conditions, they provide a more holistic, accurate view of potential health risks associated with biosolids and biosolids-amended soils than has been achievable with more selective cultivation and PCR-based techniques.
Topics: Animals; Soil; Virulence; Biosolids; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Sewage
PubMed: 37596067
DOI: 10.1093/lambio/ovad097 -
Environmental Research Mar 2024Emerging contaminants, including antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs), have been detected in large...
Emerging contaminants, including antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs), have been detected in large numbers in the aquatic environment. The effects of emerging contaminants on bacterial communities in marine sediments are not well studied. In this study, the effects of emerging contaminants (antibiotics, ARB, and eARGs) on the variations of bacterial populations in marine sediments of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea were investigated. The results showed that the abundance of the host bacterial phylum Probacteria in the marine sediments of the Bohai Sea was the lowest among the four seas after exposure to different antibiotics, ARB, and eARGs. The inputs of exogenous antibiotics and resistance genes significantly affected the community function, resulting in significant differences in community abundance at the genus level. The abundance of Halomonas, Sulfitobacter, and Alcanivorax in the four sea areas displayed noteworthy differences in response to the addition of exogenous antibiotics and eARGs. These findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between emerging contaminants and the dynamics of bacterial communities in natural ecosystems.
Topics: Ecosystem; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Geologic Sediments; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Bacteria; Genes, Bacterial; Drug Resistance, Microbial; China; Anti-Bacterial Agents
PubMed: 38135101
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.118005 -
The Science of the Total Environment Sep 2023Surface runoff is a prevalent source via which emerging pollutants (i.e., antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)) enter...
Surface runoff is a prevalent source via which emerging pollutants (i.e., antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs)) enter marine sediments. However, few studies have investigated the effect of emerging pollutants on the fate of ARGs in marine sediments. Therefore, three systems were established to measure the relative abundances of four common ARGs (i.e., bla, tetA, tetC, and aphA) and the integron-integrase gene (intI1) after exposure to emerging pollutants in marine sediments from the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea in China. The results revealed that antibiotic exposure could decrease the relative abundance of most ARGs (including bla, tetA, and tetC) in these marine sediment samples. The exceptions were the relative abundance of bla in the Bohai Sea marine sediments under ampicillin exposure and tetC in the Yellow Sea marine sediments under tetracycline exposure, which increased significantly. Among marine sediments challenged with ARB, the relative abundance of aphA in all four marine sediments displayed a decreasing trend, whereas the abundances of bla and tetA in the marine sediments from the Bohai Sea and the South China Sea showed an increasing trend. The relative abundance of tetA in the marine sediments from the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea dropped markedly when exposed to extracellular ARG (eARG). Significant changes in bla abundance were observed in the four marine sediments under eARG exposure. Gene aphA abundance showed the same trend as the intI1 abundance. IntI1 showed a decreasing trend under the exposure of antibiotic, ARB, or eARG, apart from the East and the South China Sea marine sediments under ampicillin conditions and the South China Sea marine sediments under RP4 plasmid condition. These findings suggest that dosing with emerging pollutants does not increase ARG abundance in marine sediments.
Topics: Genes, Bacterial; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteria; Ampicillin; Environmental Pollutants; Geologic Sediments; China
PubMed: 37245825
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164305 -
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Jul 2023Although antibiotics are one of the most significant factors contributing to the propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), studies on the dose-response...
Although antibiotics are one of the most significant factors contributing to the propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), studies on the dose-response relationship at sub-lethal concentrations of antibiotics remain scarce, despite their importance for assessing the risks of antibiotics in the environment. In this study, we constructed a series of microcosms to investigate the propagation of intracellular (iARGs) and extracellular (eARGs) ARGs in both water and biofilms when exposed to antibiotics at various concentrations (1-100 μg/L) and frequencies. Results showed that eARGs were more abundant than iARGs in water, while iARGs were the dominant ARGs form in biofilms. eARGs showed differentiated dose-response relationships from iARGs. The abundance of iARGs increased with the concentration of antibiotics as enhanced selective pressure overcame the metabolic burden of antibiotic-resistant bacteria carrying ARGs. However, the abundance of eARGs decreased with increasing antibiotic concentrations because less ARGs were secreted from bacterial hosts at higher concentrations (100 μg/L). Furthermore, combined exposure to two antibiotics (tetracycline & imipenem) showed a synergistic effect on the propagation of iARGs, but an antagonistic effect on the propagation of eARGs compared to exposure to a single antibiotic. When exposed to antibiotic at a fixed total dose, one-time dosing (1 time/10 d) favored the propagation of iARGs, while fractional dosing (5 times /10 d) favored the propagation of eARGs. This study sheds light on the propagation of antibiotic resistance in the environment and can help in assessing the risks associated with the use of antibiotics.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Genes, Bacterial; Tetracycline; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Bacteria; Water
PubMed: 37257347
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2023.115070 -
Folia Microbiologica Oct 2023Antibiotics are the most efficient type of therapy developed in the twentieth century. From the early 1960s to the present, the rate of discovery of new and... (Review)
Review
Antibiotics are the most efficient type of therapy developed in the twentieth century. From the early 1960s to the present, the rate of discovery of new and therapeutically useful classes of antibiotics has significantly decreased. As a result of antibiotic use, novel strains emerge that limit the efficiency of therapies in patients, resulting in serious consequences such as morbidity or mortality, as well as clinical difficulties. Antibiotic resistance has created major concern and has a greater impact on global health. Horizontal and vertical gene transfers are two mechanisms involved in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) through environmental sources such as wastewater treatment plants, agriculture, soil, manure, and hospital-associated area discharges. Mobile genetic elements have an important part in microbe selection pressure and in spreading their genes into new microbial communities; additionally, it establishes a loop between the environment, animals, and humans. This review contains antibiotics and their resistance mechanisms, diffusion of ARGs, prevention of ARG transmission, tactics involved in microbiome identification, and therapies that aid to minimize infection, which are explored further below. The emergence of ARGs and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) is an unavoidable threat to global health. The discovery of novel antimicrobial agents derived from natural products shifts the focus from chemical modification of existing antibiotic chemical composition. In the future, metagenomic research could aid in the identification of antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment. Novel therapeutics may reduce infection and the transmission of ARGs.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Genes, Bacterial; Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Drug Resistance, Microbial
PubMed: 37589876
DOI: 10.1007/s12223-023-01083-7 -
Future Medicinal Chemistry Dec 2023
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Microbial Sensitivity Tests
PubMed: 38037767
DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2023-0307 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Aug 2023The infiltration of reclaimed water has created a significant environmental risk due to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in riparian groundwater....
The infiltration of reclaimed water has created a significant environmental risk due to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in riparian groundwater. Reclaimed water from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) had been identified as a source of both antibiotics and ARGs in groundwater, based on their spatial and temporal distribution. The assembly process of microbial communities in the groundwater of the infiltration zone was more influenced by deterministic processes. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that Thermotoga, Desulfotomaculum, Methanobacterium, and other such genera were dominant shared genera. These were considered core genera and hosts of ARGs for transport from reclaimed water to groundwater. The most abundant ARG in these shared genera was MacB, enriched in groundwater point G3 and potentially transferred from reclaimed water to groundwater by Acidovorax, Hydrogenophaga, Methylotenera, Dechloromonas, and Nitrospira. During the infiltration process, environmental factors and the tradeoff between energy metabolism and antibiotic defense strategy may have affected ARG transfer. Understanding the transfer route and driving forces of ARGs from reclaimed water to groundwater provided a new perspective for evaluating the spread risk of ARGs in reclaimed water infiltration.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Water; Genes, Bacterial; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Groundwater
PubMed: 37169235
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121800