Selection of resistant bacteria at very low antibiotic concentrations.
Erik Gullberg,Sha Cao,Otto G. Berg,Carolina Ilbäck,Linus Sandegren,Diarmaid Hughes,Dan I. Andersson +6 more
TLDR
It is suggested that the low antibiotic concentrations found in many natural environments are important for enrichment and maintenance of resistance in bacterial populations.Abstract:
The widespread use of antibiotics is selecting for a variety of resistance mechanisms that seriously challenge our ability to treat bacterial infections. Resistant bacteria can be selected at the high concentrations of antibiotics used therapeutically, but what role the much lower antibiotic concentrations present in many environments plays in selection remains largely unclear. Here we show using highly sensitive competition experiments that selection of resistant bacteria occurs at extremely low antibiotic concentrations. Thus, for three clinically important antibiotics, drug concentrations up to several hundred-fold below the minimal inhibitory concentration of susceptible bacteria could enrich for resistant bacteria, even when present at a very low initial fraction. We also show that de novo mutants can be selected at sub-MIC concentrations of antibiotics, and we provide a mathematical model predicting how rapidly such mutants would take over in a susceptible population. These results add another dimension to the evolution of resistance and suggest that the low antibiotic concentrations found in many natural environments are important for enrichment and maintenance of resistance in bacterial populations.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Widespread occurrence and potential for biodegradation of bioactive contaminants in Congaree National Park, USA
Paul M. Bradley,William A. Battaglin,Jimmy M. Clark,Frank P. Henning,Michelle L. Hladik,Luke R. Iwanowicz,Celeste A. Journey,Jeffrey W. Riley,Kristin M. Romanok +8 more
TL;DR: Endogenous sterols and hormones, which may originate from humans or wildlife, were detected in water and sediment samples throughout Congaree National Park, but synthetic hormones were detected only once, suggesting a comparatively low risk of adverse impacts.
Journal ArticleDOI
Evolution of Resistance to Continuously Increasing Streptomycin Concentrations in Populations of Escherichia coli
TL;DR: A novel chemostat method was used to observe the evolution of resistance to streptomycin in a sensitive population of Escherichia coli, which grew while the concentration of antibiotic was constantly increasing, creating a “lull period” in which there were few bacterial cells growing in the chemostats.
Journal ArticleDOI
Not All Antibiotic Use Practices in Food-Animal Agriculture Afford the Same Risk
TL;DR: When considering the risks of different antibiotic use practices in agriculture, it would be prudent to focus attention on practices that involve high doses, oral delivery, and residues of antibiotics that remain active in soils.
Book ChapterDOI
Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods
Siska Croubels,Els Daeseleire +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the broader issues associated with residues of veterinary drugs in food products of animal origin are dealt with, such as risk assessment, risk management, major causes of residues and major classes of drug residues.
Journal ArticleDOI
Large-scale biogeographical patterns of antibiotic resistome in the forest soils across China.
Mengke Song,Dandan Song,Longfei Jiang,Dayi Zhang,Yingtao Sun,Guoen Chen,Huijuan Xu,Weiping Mei,Yongtao Li,Chunling Luo,Chunling Luo,Gan Zhang +11 more
TL;DR: A national-scale investigation of soil resistomes in pristine forests across China found numerous detected ARGs conferring resistance to major classes of modern antibiotics were identified and indicated forest soils as a potential source of resistance traits.
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Journal ArticleDOI
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