Impact of anthropogenic activities on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance across ecological boundaries

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Tripathi ◽  
Eddie Cytryn
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Current State ◽  
Ecological Boundaries ◽  
Clinical Environments

Antibiotics are considered to be one of the major medical breakthroughs in history. Nonetheless, over the past four decades, antibiotic resistance has reached alarming levels worldwide and this trend is expected to continue to increase, leading some experts to forecast the coming of a ‘post-antibiotic’ era. Although antibiotic resistance in pathogens is traditionally linked to clinical environments, there is a rising concern that the global propagation of antibiotic resistance is also associated with environmental reservoirs that are linked to anthropogenic activities such as animal husbandry, agronomic practices and wastewater treatment. It is hypothesized that the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) within and between environmental microbial communities can ultimately contribute to the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens. Nonetheless, the scope of this phenomenon is not clear due to the complexity of microbial communities in the environment and methodological constraints that limit comprehensive in situ evaluation of microbial genomes. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding antibiotic resistance in non-clinical environments, specifically focusing on the dissemination of antibiotic resistance across ecological boundaries and the contribution of this phenomenon to global antibiotic resistance.

scholarly journals Testudines as Sentinels for Monitoring the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance in Marine Environments: An Integrative Review

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 775
Author(s):  
Kezia Drane ◽  
Roger Huerlimann ◽  
Michelle Power ◽  
Anna Whelan ◽  
Ellen Ariel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Marine Environments ◽  
Beta Lactam ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Sensitivity Tests ◽  
Standard Culture

Dissemination of antibiotic resistance (AR) in marine environments is a global concern with a propensity to affect public health and many ecosystems worldwide. We evaluated the use of sea turtles as sentinel species for monitoring AR in marine environments. In this field, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been commonly identified by using standard culture and sensitivity tests, leading to an overrepresentation of specific, culturable bacterial classes in the available literature. AR was detected against all major antibiotic classes, but the highest cumulative global frequency of resistance in all represented geographical sites was against the beta-lactam class by a two-fold difference compared to all other antibiotics. Wastewater facilities and turtle rehabilitation centres were associated with higher incidences of multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRB) accounting for an average of 58% and 49% of resistant isolates, respectively. Furthermore, a relatively similar prevalence of MDRB was seen in all studied locations. These data suggest that anthropogenically driven selection pressures for the development of AR in sea turtles and marine environments are relatively similar worldwide. There is a need, however, to establish direct demonstrable associations between AR in sea turtles in their respective marine environments with wastewater facilities and other anthropogenic activities worldwide.

Antimicrobial Mechanisms and Mode of Actions of Nanoemulsion Against Drug-Resistant ESKAPE Pathogens

2022 ◽  
pp. 142-168
Author(s):  
Karthikeyan Ramalingam ◽  
Mohd Hashim Khan
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Controlled Release ◽  
Essential Oil ◽  
Thermodynamic Properties ◽  
Hospital Care ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Eskape Pathogens

An enhancement of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and health infrastructure and hospital care charges. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has highlighted a section of antibiotic resistant bacteria termed as ESKAPE pathogens. These pathogens are proficient in ‘escaping' the biocidal effect of antibiotics and mutually representing new paradigms in transmission of diseases, pathogenesis, and resistance in their genetic materials. Essential oil-based nanoemulsions (NEs) have great interest towards the “natural” therapies as potential antimicrobial agents. Thermodynamic properties and kinetically stable potential of biphasic system of nanoemulsion enable them to be used as an effective nano-carrier with controlled release at the targeted point. This chapter describes the mechanisms of ESKAPE pathogens and the mode of the mechanisms of antimicrobial action of nanoemulsions for the treatment of MDR human pathogens.

scholarly journals Novel Insights into Selection for Antibiotic Resistance in Complex Microbial Communities

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimee K. Murray ◽  
Lihong Zhang ◽  
Xiaole Yin ◽  
Tong Zhang ◽  
Angus Buckling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Antibiotic Concentration ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Clinical Environments ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Antibiotic Degradation

ABSTRACTRecent research has demonstrated that selection for antibiotic resistance occurs at very low antibiotic concentrations in single-species experiments, but the relevance of these findings when species are embedded in complex microbial communities is unclear. We show that the strength of selection for naturally occurring resistance alleles in a complex community remains constant from low subinhibitory to above clinically relevant concentrations. Selection increases with antibiotic concentration before reaching a plateau where selection remains constant over a 2-order-magnitude concentration range. This is likely to be due to cross protection of the susceptible bacteria in the community following rapid extracellular antibiotic degradation by the resistant population, shown experimentally through a combination of chemical quantification and bacterial growth experiments. Metagenome and 16S rRNA analyses of sewage-derived bacterial communities evolved under cefotaxime exposure show preferential enrichment forblaCTX-Mgenes over all other beta-lactamase genes, as well as positive selection and co-selection for antibiotic resistant, opportunistic pathogens. These findings have far-reaching implications for our understanding of the evolution of antibiotic resistance, by challenging the long-standing assumption that selection occurs in a dose-dependent manner.IMPORTANCEAntibiotic resistance is one of the greatest global issues facing society. Still, comparatively little is known about selection for resistance at very low antibiotic concentrations. We show that the strength of selection for clinically important resistance genes within a complex bacterial community can remain constant across a large antibiotic concentration range (wide selective space). Therefore, largely understudied ecological compartments could be just as important as clinical environments for selection of antibiotic resistance.

scholarly journals Widely Used Benzalkonium Chloride Disinfectants Can Promote Antibiotic Resistance

2018 ◽  
Vol 84 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minjae Kim ◽  
Michael R. Weigand ◽  
Seungdae Oh ◽  
Janet K. Hatt ◽  
Raj Krishnan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Gene Cloning ◽  
Benzalkonium Chloride ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Physiological Adaptations

ABSTRACTWhile the misuse of antibiotics has clearly contributed to the emergence and proliferation of resistant bacterial pathogens, with major health consequences, it remains less clear if the widespread use of disinfectants, such as benzalkonium chlorides (BAC), a different class of biocides than antibiotics, has contributed to this problem. Here, we provide evidence that exposure to BAC coselects for antibiotic-resistant bacteria and describe the underlying genetic mechanisms. After inoculation with river sediment, BAC-fed bioreactors selected for several bacterial taxa, including the opportunistic pathogenPseudomonas aeruginosa, that were more resistant to several antibiotics than their counterparts in a control (no BAC) bioreactor. A metagenomic analysis of the bioreactor microbial communities, confirmed by gene cloning experiments with the derived isolates, suggested that integrative and conjugative elements encoding a BAC efflux pump together with antibiotic resistance genes were responsible for these results. Furthermore, the exposure of theP. aeruginosaisolates to increasing concentrations of BAC selected for mutations inpmrB(polymyxin resistance) and physiological adaptations that contributed to a higher tolerance to polymyxin B and other antibiotics. The physiological adaptations included the overexpression ofmexCD-oprJmultidrug efflux pump genes when BAC was added in the growth medium at subinhibitory concentrations. Collectively, our results demonstrated that disinfectants promote antibiotic resistance via several mechanisms and highlight the need to remediate (degrade) disinfectants in nontarget environments to further restrain the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.IMPORTANCEBenzalkonium chlorides (BAC) are biocides broadly used in disinfectant solutions. Disinfectants are widely used in food processing lines, domestic households, and pharmaceutical products and are typically designed to have a different mode of action than antibiotics to avoid interfering with the use of the latter. Whether exposure to BAC makes bacteria more resistant to antibiotics remains an unresolved issue of obvious practical consequences for public health. Using an integrated approach that combines metagenomics of natural microbial communities with gene cloning experiments with isolates and experimental evolution assays, we show that the widely used benzalkonium chloride disinfectants promote clinically relevant antibiotic resistance. Therefore, more attention should be given to the usage of these disinfectants, and their fate in nontarget environments should be monitored more tightly.

scholarly journals Antibiotic resistance breakers: current approaches and future directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 490-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Laws ◽  
Ali Shaaban ◽  
Khondaker Miraz Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Therapeutic Agents ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Global Response ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Current State ◽  
Novel Approaches ◽  
Future Direction ◽  
Promising Avenue

ABSTRACTInfections of antibiotic-resistant pathogens pose an ever-increasing threat to mankind. The investigation of novel approaches for tackling the antimicrobial resistance crisis must be part of any global response to this problem if an untimely reversion to the pre-penicillin era of medicine is to be avoided. One such promising avenue of research involves so-called antibiotic resistance breakers (ARBs), capable of re-sensitising resistant bacteria to antibiotics. Although some ARBs have previously been employed in the clinical setting, such as the β-lactam inhibitors, we posit that the broader field of ARB research can yet yield a greater diversity of more effective therapeutic agents than have been previously achieved. This review introduces the area of ARB research, summarises the current state of ARB development with emphasis on the various major classes of ARBs currently being investigated and their modes of action, and offers a perspective on the future direction of the field.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Pharmaceutical Wastewaters

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1731
Author(s):  
Amarachukwu Obayiuwana ◽  
Adeniyi Ogunjobi ◽  
Abasiofiok Ibekwe
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance Genes ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Pharmaceutical Wastewater ◽  
Metagenomic Dna ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant

Pharmaceutical wastewaters are recognized as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB), and also as hotspots for their horizontal gene transfer (HGT) using mobile genetic elements. Our study employed the use of PCR analysis of metagenomic DNA samples obtained from four pharmaceutical wastewaters using known primers to study the prevalence of thirty-six ARGs and four MGEs active against the commonly used antibiotics in Nigeria. The ARGs most frequently detected from the metagenomic DNA samples in each of the antibiotic classes under study include tetracycline [tet(G)], aminoglycoside [aadA, strA and strB], chloramphenicol [catA1], sulphonamides [sulI and sulII], and β-lactams and penicillins [blaOXA]. The ARGs showed a 100% prevalence in their various environmental sources. The pharmaceutical facility PFIV showed the highest concentration of ARGs in this study. The highest concentration for MGEs was shown by pharmaceutical facility PFIII, positive for intl1, intl2, and IFS genes. This study highlights the wide distribution of ARGs to the antibiotics tested in the wastewater, making pharmaceutical wastewater reservoirs of ARGs which could potentially be transferred from commensal microorganisms to human pathogens.

scholarly journals A REVIEW ARTICLE ON: ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajid K. Mule ◽  
Suraj Malpani ◽  
Shradha T. Nemane ◽  
Sushil S. Kore ◽  
Ayaj S. Pathan
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
World Health ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
High Morbidity ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
The World ◽  
Tract Infections ◽  
The U.S

Antibiotics are the ‘wonder drugs’ to combat microbes. For decades, various types of antibiotics have not only been used for therapeutic purposes but practiced prophylactically across other industries such as agriculture and animal husbandry. Antibiotic-resistant infections correlate with the level of antibiotic consumption. Non-judicial use of antibiotics is one of the reason for making the microbes resistant. The antibiotic therapy store for emerging hard-to-treat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections is limited, resulting in high morbidity and mortality report. As per the World Health Organization “First worldwide Report on Antibiotic Resistance”, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC&P) and the spread of “superbugs” - bacteria that have changed in ways that provided antibiotics non effective against them - is a severe and growing threat around the world. Once common treatments for not only everyday intestinal and urinary tract infections but also pneumonia as well as infections in newborn and diseases like gonorrhea are no longer working in people. Thus, in 2013, two million people in the U.S. were affected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and 23,000 of them die each year as a result. Keywords: Wonder drugs, antibiotic resistance, CDC&P, Superbugs etc.

scholarly journals The Role of Bacterial Membrane Vesicles in the Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance and as Promising Carriers for Therapeutic Agent Delivery

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Jalal Uddin ◽  
Jirapat Dawan ◽  
Gibeom Jeon ◽  
Tao Yu ◽  
Xinlong He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Membrane Vesicles ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Membrane ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant

The rapid emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria continues to be an issue difficult to deal with, especially in the clinical, animal husbandry, and food fields. The occurrence of multidrug-resistant bacteria renders treatment with antibiotics ineffective. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic methods is a worthwhile research endeavor in treating infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Recently, bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) have been investigated as a possible approach to drug delivery and vaccine development. The BMVs are released by both pathogenic and non-pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, containing various components originating from the cytoplasm and the cell envelope. The BMVs are able to transform bacteria with genes that encode enzymes such as proteases, glycosidases, and peptidases, resulting in the enhanced antibiotic resistance in bacteria. The BMVs can increase the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. However, the biogenesis and functions of BMVs are not fully understood in association with the bacterial pathogenesis. Therefore, this review aims to discuss BMV-associated antibiotic resistance and BMV-based therapeutic interventions.

scholarly journals Environmental Biofilms as Reservoirs for Antimicrobial Resistance

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Flores-Vargas ◽  
Jordyn Bergsveinson ◽  
John R. Lawrence ◽  
Darren R. Korber
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Chemical Cue ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Antibiotic Concentration ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
The Impact

Characterizing the response of microbial communities to a range of antibiotic concentrations is one of the strategies used to understand the impact of antibiotic resistance. Many studies have described the occurrence and prevalence of antibiotic resistance in microbial communities from reservoirs such as hospitals, sewage, and farm feedlots, where bacteria are often exposed to high and/or constant concentrations of antibiotics. Outside of these sources, antibiotics generally occur at lower, sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs). The constant exposure to low concentrations of antibiotics may serve as a chemical “cue” that drives development of antibiotic resistance. Low concentrations of antibiotics have not yet been broadly described in reservoirs outside of the aforementioned environments, nor is the transfer and dissemination of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes within natural microbial communities fully understood. This review will thus focus on low antibiotic-concentration environmental reservoirs and mechanisms that are important in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance to help identify key knowledge gaps concerning the environmental resistome.

scholarly journals Antibiotic resistance in surface waters from a coastal lagoon of Southern Brazil under the impact of anthropogenic activities

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Belize Leite ◽  
Magda Antunes de Chaves ◽  
Athos Aramis Thopor Nunes ◽  
Louise Jank ◽  
Gertrudes Corção
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Coastal Lagoon ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Class I ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
The Impact

Wastes arising from human activities can reach water bodies and contribute significantly to the presence of antibiotic resistant bacterial populations in aquatic environments. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cultivable antibiotic resistant bacterial populations from a coastal lagoon impacted by agriculture and urbanization activities. Water samples were collected in low and peak season and characterized regarding physicochemical variables, microbiological indicators and the presence of antimicrobial residues. In order to analyze the presence of resistant bacterial populations, the samples were grown in the presence of nalidixic acid, ceftazidime, imipenem and tetracycline. Genes associated with β-lactamic resistance (blaCTX-M-like, blaGES-like, blaOXA-51, blaOXA-23-like, blaSHV-like, blaTEM-like and blaSPM-1), class I integron and efflux systems (tetA, tetB, acrA, acrB, tolC, adeA, adeB, adeR, adeS, mexB, mexD, mexF and mexY) were analyzed by conventional in vitro amplification. Although antimicrobials residues were below the detection limit, resistant bacteria and resistance determinants - blaGES, class I integron, adeS, acrA, acrB, tolC, mexB, mexF - were present at almost all points, in both seasons and for all antimicrobials assessed. The high numbers of resistant bacteria counts observed after the antibiotic treatment were positively correlated to the urbanization effects on the Lagoon. Some resistant populations were even higher in the low season samples, indicating the importance of a systematic evaluation of antibiotic resistance on water resources.

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