Horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in the human gut microbiome

Abstract

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Horizontal Transfer Mediated Proliferation of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in High-Fat Diet Induced Obesity Mice

“…Microbial community analysis was carried out to further gure out which bacteria were nally affected the fate of ARGs. On the whole, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most abundance phylum, occupying from 68.57% − 74.79% and 15.79% − 13.21% of all species in the mouse feces (Additional le 9: Figure S7), which were in accordance with those in the feces of healthy people [3]. Actinobacteria occupied much higher proportions in the control groups (11.05%) than that in the HFD groups (2.78%).…”

“…A total of 296 genes were detected among the 6 mixed fecal samples from mice (3) and human (3). The number of genes detected in the mouse and human feces were 157 and 98, respectively (Additional le 1: Table S1), and 71 genes were found in mouse and human feces simultaneously.…”

“…Infections caused by pathogens carrying antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have appeared as a serious public health threat and are triggering a global health crisis [1], e.g., it is estimated that the annual attributable mortality due to resistant infections in the Europe Union was up to number over 30,000; morbidity and mortality caused by multi-drug resistant infections are particularly higher in low-income and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa and South America [2,3]. Recent predictions estimate that antibiotic resistant infections will have a higher mortality rate than cancer and cause up to 10 million deaths per year in 2050s [4].…”

“…It is widely accepted that human gut microbiota is an important reservoir of ARGs [6,7]. Most of gut bacteria have a symbiotic relationship with their host, but also contain opportunistic pathogens, such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia [3]. ARGs in the host gut bacteria can not only be exchanged inside the symbiotic or commensal microbiota but can also be transferred to opportunistic pathogens, which is challenging life-saving antibiotic therapies.…”

Interplay between Regulatory RNAs and Signal Transduction Systems during Bacterial Infection

“…Another aspect to consider is that infections caused by major pathogens are difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics because of specific resistance mechanisms related with their infection life cycle. This includes, in the case of C. difficile, the differentiation into spores, which are intrinsically resistant to antibiotics [ 180 ], or the acquisition of antibiotic resistances through HGT in many pathogens [ 246 , 247 ]. There is therefore an urgent need to broaden the repertoire of new antibiotic targets and to find species-specific antimicrobial strategies.…”