Threats of antibiotic resistance: an obliged reappraisal

Abstract

We are living in a society of fear, where the objectivity in estimating risks is distorted by the media and the interested parties. During more than half of a century, the feeling of antibiotic resistance as an apocalyptic phenomenon able to push our society to the high mortality rates caused by infectious diseases in the dark pre-antibiotic ages has been steadily rising. However, at the current status of modern medicine, at least in the high-medium income countries, mortality by lack of efficacy of the antibiotic armamentarium in the therapy of infections is a problem, but not a catastrophe. The threat of antibiotic resistance has many other aspects than failures of therapy in the individual patient. Among them, the increase in the frequency of severe and potentially lethal infections, as bacteremia, the population biology alterations of the healthy microbiota, the global acceleration of bacterial evolution by selecting natural genetic tools mediating microbial interactions, and, most importantly, by modifying the equilibrium and composition of environmental microbial communities. All these threats have huge implications for human health as members of a Biosphere entirely rooted in a menaced microbiosphere.

Allele-specific collateral and fitness effects determine the dynamics of fluoroquinolone resistance evolution

“…Where B represents the bacterial density, B 0 the inoculum, k G the bacterial maximal growth rate, the effect size of antibiotic 1 (AB 1 ), the effect size of antibiotic 2 (AB 2 ), and the effect size of the interaction between AB 1 and AB 2 . Here, antibiotic AB 1 and AB 2 were binary variables indicating the presence ( 1 ) or absence (0) of the respective drugs. To facilitate the translation of the integration to the PK-PD model framework, a relative interaction term ( ) was derived according to Eq.…”

“…Antibiotics are a cornerstone of the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections; however, their efficacy is rapidly declining due to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance ( 1 ). Advances in antibiotic discovery and design have not kept pace with resistance evolution ( 2 ), necessitating experimentally validated treatment strategies ( 3 ).…”

On the Verge of a Catastrophic Collapse? The Need for a Multi-Ecosystem Approach to Microbiome Studies

“…Just as microbiome communities within humans are characterized by their robustness and resilience, so are the broader ecosystems in which we live ( McFall-Ngai et al, 2013 ). Paradoxically, while the widespread use of antibiotics has led to the propagation of antimicrobial resistance genes as well as increased density of mobile genetic elements, implying accelerated evolutionary rates ( Baquero, 2021 ), changes in our way of living have led to reduced replenishments of symbiotic bacteria. Indeed, not only contact with microbiota from other humans and animals are of relevance, so are material and urban microbial populations, which are indicated to play a role in, for example, “sick building syndrome” ( Sahlberg et al, 2010 ) and antimicrobial resistance ( Danko et al, 2021 ).…”

Sesquiterpene and Sorbicillinoid Glycosides from the Endophytic Fungus Trichoderma longibrachiatum EN-586 Derived from the Marine Red Alga Laurencia obtusa

“…The prevalence of microbial resistance has become a serious public health threat, highlighting the urgence of screening for new active molecules [ 1 ]. Acorane-type sesquiterpenes and sorbicillinoids are common secondary metabolites discovered in several genera of fungi, which displayed various biological activities, including antimicrobial, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, and radical-scavenging activities [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ].…”