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Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
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Country-specific antibiotic use practices impact the human gut resistome

Kristoffer Forslund1, Shinichi Sunagawa, Jens Roat Kultima

  • 1European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.

Genome Research
|April 10, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Antibiotic resistance genes are widespread in the human gut microbiome, influenced by antibiotic use in animals and older drugs. These resistance determinants persist in the gut flora for over a year.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genomics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Concerns exist regarding antibiotic misuse in medicine and agriculture.
  • Population-level transfer of antibiotic resistance to the human gut microbiota remains understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the "antibiotic resistance potential" of microbial communities.
  • To investigate the relationship between antibiotic use and the gut resistome.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 252 fecal metagenomes.
  • Quantification of known resistance genes across 68 antibiotic classes and subclasses.

Main Results:

  • Abundance of resistance determinants correlates with antibiotic use in animals and drug availability duration.
  • Higher resistance gene abundance observed in samples from Spain, Italy, and France compared to Denmark, USA, and Japan.
  • Antibiotic resistance determinants in individuals persist in gut flora for at least one year.

Conclusions:

  • Metagenomic analysis reveals significant antibiotic resistance potential in the human gut microbiome.
  • Antibiotic use patterns in human and animal populations are linked to observed resistance levels.
  • Gut antibiotic resistance is a stable, long-term phenomenon within individuals.

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