Bacterial resistance toward broad-spectrum antibiotics has become a major concern in recent years. The threat posed by the infectious bacteria and the pace with which resistance determinants are transmitted needs to be deciphered. Soil and water contain unique and diverse microbial communities as well as pools of naturally occurring antibiotics resistant genes. Overuse of antibiotics along with poor sanitary practices expose these indigenous microbial communities to antibiotic resistance genes from other bacteria and accelerate the process of acquisition and dissemination. Clinical settings, where most antibiotics are prescribed, are hypothesized to serve as a major hotspot. The predisposition of the surrounding environments to a pool of antibiotic-resistant bacteria facilitates rapid antibiotic resistance among the indigenous microbiota in the soil, water, and clinical environments via horizontal gene transfer. This provides favorable conditions for the development of more multidrug-resistant
pathogens. Limitations in detecting gene transfer mechanisms have likely left us underestimating
the role played by the surrounding environmental hotspots in the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. This review aims to identify the major drivers responsible
for the spread of antibiotic resistance and hotspots responsible for the acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes.
History
Publication Date
2021-06-01
Journal
MicrobiologyOpen
Volume
10
Issue
3
Article Number
e1197
Pagination
11p.
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
2045-8827
Rights Statement
The Authors reserves all moral rights over the deposited text and must be credited if any re-use occurs.