Modern hospitals and antibiotic treatment alone have not created all the antibiotic resistance that we see today. Instead, selective pressure from widespread use of antibiotics has affected some of their development, a new study has found.
Using analytical technology and sequences that have only been developed in recent years, scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo and the University of Cambridge have developed an evolutionary timeline of the bacterium, Enterococcus faecalis, which formation, which is a common bacterium that can be resistant to antibiotics. diseases in hospitals.
The results, published today (March 9, 2021) are in Nature Communication show that this bacterium has the ability to adapt quickly to selection pressures, such as the use of chemicals in farming as well as the development of new medicines, which have caused different strains of the same bacterium in many parts of the world, from its most human branches to many wild birds. Because it is so widespread, the researchers suggest that people should be screened for this type of bacteria when they are admitted to the hospital, in the same way as they are for other superbugs, in order to helping to reduce the potential for the development and spread of infection within health care.
Enterococcus faecalis is a common bacterium that is found, in most people, in the intestinal tract and does not harm the host. However, if someone is vaccinated and this bacterium gets into the bloodstream, it can cause serious infection.
In hospitals, it is more common to detect antibiotic-resistant strains of E. faecalis and it was initially thought that the widespread use of antibiotics and other antibacterial control measures in modern hospitals caused the that ray.
In a new study, scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo and the University of Cambridge studied about 2000 samples of E. faecalis from 1936 to the present day using separate blood streams from patients and stool samples from healthy animals and people.
By sequencing the genome (including chromosomes and plasmids) using technology from Oxford Nanopore, the team mapped the bacterial evolutionary journey and created a timeline of when and where they developed. various strains, including those found today to be resistant to antibiotics. They found that antibiotic-resistant rays developed earlier than previously thought, before antibiotics were widely used, so it was not just antibiotic use that led to their emergence.
The researchers found that early agricultural and medical practices, such as arsenic and mercury use, influenced the evolution of some of the strains we now see. In addition, strains similar to the antibiotic resistant mutations we see in hospitals are now found in wild birds. This shows how flexible and adaptable this bacterium species is at growing into new strains despite various disorders.
Professor Jukka Corander, co-author author and Associate Faculty member at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: “This is the first time we have been able to plot the full growth of E. faecalis from samples up to 85 years old, which allows us to see the detailed impact of human lifestyles, agriculture and medicine on the development of various bacterial species. The complete timeline of evolutionary change would not have been possible without the research methods and series found at the Sanger Institute. “
Dr Anna Pöntinen, co-lead author and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo, said: “Currently, when patients are admitted to hospital, they are swabbed for some antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi and are isolated to ensure infection levels are maintained Thanks to this study, it is possible to study the prevalence of E. faecalis and identify those that are more likely to spread within hospitals and therefore potentially harm in immunocompromised persons. We believe it may also be beneficial to screen for E. faecalis when admitted to hospitals. ”
Professor Julian Parkhill, co-author and Professor in the Department of Medicine at Cambridge University, said: “This research has found that these strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are much more older than we thought before, and it has illuminated their wonders. metabolic flexibility combined with multiple mechanisms strengthens survival under harsh conditions that have allowed them to spread widely across the globe. “
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Contact information:
Rachael Smith
Media Relations Office
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Cambridge, CB10 1SA
Email: [email protected]
Notes to Editors:
Published:
Anna K. Pöntinen, Janetta Top and Sergio Arredondo-Alonso, et al. (2021) There appears to be a nosocomial mutation of Enterococcus faecalis prior to hospitalization today. Nature Communication. DOI: https: /
Funding:
This research was funded by the Trond Mohn Foundation, the Joint Programming Initiative in Antimicrobial Sustainability, Applied Molecular Biology Unit, European Research Council, and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions.
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