#Lack of energy an enemy to antibiotic-resistant microbesrice University researchers cured a strain of bacteria of its ability to resist an antibiotic in an experiment that has implications for a longstanding public health crisis. Rice environmental engineer Pedro Alvarez
and his team managed to remove the ability of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa microorganism to resist the antibiotic medication tetracycline by limiting its access to food and oxygen.
and often transmissible DNA element--that allows it to resist tetracycline. The researchers'results reported this month in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental science
and Technology are the latest in a long effort to understand the environmental aspects of antibiotic resistance which threatens decades of progress in fighting disease.
The propagation of antibiotic resistance has been perceived as a medical or microbiology-related problem Alvarez said.
A lot of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria originate in animal agriculture where there is overuse misuse and abuse of antibiotics.
Alvarez contended that confined animal feeding operations (CAFOS) are potential sources of environmental contamination by antibiotics
and the associated antibiotic-resistant genes that find their way into the ground water and ultimately the food supply.
We started with the hypothesis that microbes don't like to carry excess baggage he said. That means they will drop genes they're not using
and/or oxygen through successive generations they found that in the absence of tetracycline both microbes dumped the resistance plasmid though not entirely in the case of E coli.
which made it susceptible once again to antibiotics. When a high level of tetracycline was present both microbes retained a level of resistance One long-recognized problem with antibiotics is that they tend to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
If any antibiotic-resistant bacteria are part of a biological mix whether in a person an animal or in the environment the weak microbes will die
and the resistant will survive and propagate; this process is known by biologists as selective pressure.
If we can put an anaerobic barrier at the point where a lagoon drains into the environment we will essentially exert selective pressure for the loss of antibiotic-resistant genes
His study of the Haihe River in China funded by the Chinese government and published last year found tetracycline resistance genes are common in the environment there as well.
one (four percent) was contaminated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics;
and seven (27 percent) were contaminated with Escherichia coli including one tetracycline-resistant sample. The number of treats sampled was small
sows/piglets (9%)weaners (5%)and finishers (5%).This is primarily due to an increased consumption of pleuromutilins and tetracyclines
which led to more illness and--as a result--an increased consumption of tetracyclines in turkeys.
An increased occurrence of diarrhea in broilers in 2013 can partly explain the increased consumption of penicillins which are an effective treatment against diarrhea.
The use of 3 kilos of cephalosporins in pig production is also low. However it does represent a significant increase compared to the year before
when total consumption of cephalosporins was 1 kilo. There has been a significant drop in consumption in cattle.
In 2010 Danish pork producers introduced a voluntary ban on the use of cephalosporins where other effective treatment options are available.
In August 2014 the Danish Agriculture & Food Council encouraged cattle farmers to only use cephalosporins where this is the only effective treatment option.
Cephalosporins are used not in poultry production. Companion animals and horsesoverall the consumption of antimicrobials in the treatment of companion animals
This increase was not due to an increase in the use of critically important antimicrobials as the consumption of both cephalosporins
or life-threatening infections in humans These types include carbapenems third and fourth generation cephalosporins fluoroquinolones and macrolides.
The milk extracted from the cow is also unsuitable for the food chain causing substantial loss due to treatment with antibiotics
The study finds an urgent need for better implementation of these approaches for example in managing the use of antibiotics
Much of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria they carried were antibiotic resistant likely due to the use of drugs both to treat sick hogs
In Europe the children of livestock workers have been treated for infections caused by a new livestock-associated strain of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) that doesn't match the more widely found community-or hospital-associated strains.
Evidence of persistent carriage of this new livestock-associated strain and its drug resistance has led to restrictions on the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock overseas.
Strains of staph like MRSA which are resistant to some antibiotics can be the most damaging
Persistence of livestock-associated antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among industrial hog operation workers in North carolina over 14 days was written by Maya Nadimpalli Jessica L. Rinsky Steve Wing Devon
These lactic acid bacteria have now been tested on severe human wound pathogens such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Pseudomonas aeruginosa and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) among others.
Antibiotics are mostly one active substance effective against only a narrow spectrum of bacteria. When used alive these 13 lactic acid bacteria produce the right kind of antimicrobial compounds as needed depending on the threat.
but also for Western countries where antibiotic resistance is seriously increasing. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Lund University.
#Allergic reaction to antibiotic residues in foods? You may have to watch what your fruits and veggies eatpeople with food allergies always have to watch what they eat.
and vegetables eat as it seems it's possible to have an allergic reaction to antibiotic residues in food.
and seasonal allergies and known anaphylaxis to penicillin and cow's milk she wasn't known to be allergic to any of the ingredients in the pie.
After weeks of testing on both the young girl and a sample of the pie the article authors decided that what had caused the reaction was contaminated a streptomycin blueberry.
Streptomycin in addition to being used a drug to fight disease is used also as a pesticide in fruit to combat the growth of bacteria fungi and algae.
As far as we know this is the first report that links an allergic reaction to fruits treated with antibiotic pesticides said allergist Anne Des Roches MDFRCP lead study author.
Certain European countries ban the use of antibiotics for growing foods but the United states and Canada still allow them for agricultural purposes.
and Drug Administration may help to reduce antibiotic contaminants in food which will help reduce antibiotic resistance
and may also help reduce this type of event. This is a very rare allergic reaction said allergist James Sublett MD ACAAI president-elect.
#Synthesis produces new fungus-derived antibiotica fortuitous collaboration at Rice university has led to the total synthesis of a recently discovered natural antibiotic.
The laboratory recreation of a fungus-derived antibiotic viridicatumtoxin B may someday help bolster the fight against bacteria that evolve resistance to treatments in hospitals and clinics around the world.
and tested a number of variants of viridicatumtoxin B that could lead to the simplified synthesis of a new generation of more effective antibiotics.
The work reported this month in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) focused on a tetracycline discovered in 2008 by scientists who isolated small amounts from penicillium fungi.
The new discovery belongs to a class of antibiotics known as tetracyclines for their distinctive molecular structure.
They proved potent in initial tests on Gram-positive bacteria so named for a staining technique to mark bacteria that are more susceptible to antibiotics than their Gram-negative counterparts.
The first tetracyclines discovered in the late 1940s ushered in a new class of powerful antibacterial agents to treat high-mortality diseases among them anthrax and plague as well as such bacterial infections as chlamydia syphilis and Lyme disease.
To find new weapons especially against superbugs that resist nearly all antibiotics synthetic chemists pursue the complex process of mimicking the structures of effective natural molecules as they build drug candidates atom by atom.
Tetracyclines are widespread antibiotics today but bacteria are building resistance to a lot of them Nicolaou said.
This new tetracycline is not plentiful in nature so the only way we can make it available to study by biologists for its potential in medicine is to synthesize it in the laboratory.
or surpass its antibiotic potency. Nicolaou who is known best for synthesizing the widely used anticancer drug taxol
In order to investigate the biological properties of our synthesized compounds we turned to the Shamoo laboratory for its expertise in the area of antibiotics and drug-resistant bacteria.
Our expertise in antibiotic resistance and his synthesis of viridicatumtoxin B and analogs were a perfect opportunity for us to work together on an important problem.
Nicolaou acknowledged it could be years--even decades--before an antibiotic derived from viridicatumtoxin B is available to patients.
and the tools developed through the process should prove valuable in the synthesis of other fungal tetracyclines.
A significant benefit of this patented technology is that it reduces reliance on antibiotics to treat
This reduces the risk of antibiotic resistance selection and has positive implications for both human and animal health.
#It does need not always to be antibiotics: healthy pig breedingscientists found a way to reduce the application of antibiotics in pig breeding by using antimicrobial peptides.
The results of the study have just been published in the scientific online-journal PLOS ONE.
Researchers investigated the application of antimicrobial peptides (AMP) as substitutes for antibiotics in liquid sperm preservation.
Then they showed that two of the investigated AMPS suppressed bacterial growth in liquid preserved semen preparations if combined with a small amount of the antibiotic gentamicin.
which can lead to an increasing resistance against antibiotics. This causes big problems for breeders when using artificial insemination the method most commonly used in assisted reproductive technology in pig production worldwide.
The addition of antibiotics to liquid semen is required by law and facilitates an inhibition of bacterial growth.
However many types of bacteria quickly develop resistances to the usually applied antibiotics. Hence it is important to look for new antimicrobial alternatives.
Antimicrobial peptides do not offer a complete alternative for traditional antibiotics in liquid sperm preservation
if fewer antibiotics are used. Additional application possibilities are conceivable outlines Dr Margitta Dathe from the FMP.
MRSA is resistant to the antibiotics with which we normally use for treatment of Staphylococcus infections.
When bacteria are exposed to antibiotics they protect themselves by developing resistance. They do this by changing their genes either by mutating
It is therefore important not to overconsume antibiotics but only to use the necessary amount.
#Fecal transplants let packrats eat poisonwoodrats lost their ability to eat toxic creosote bushes after antibiotics killed their gut microbes.
Antibiotics kill about 90 percent of the gut microbes in animals severely impairing their ability to consume toxic foods.
Two groups of woodrats were pretreated with the antibiotic neomycin in their drinking water. One group was placed on a diet of rabbit chow and creosote resin.
With their gut microbes killed by the antibiotic they were unable to feed on creosote and lost 10 percent of their body weight within 13 days.
#From antibiotics to yeast: Latest student science heads for spaceastronauts on future missions may nibble on lettuce
and grow their own antibiotics depending on the results of research that student scientists plan to conduct on the International Space station.
Eighth graders at Pennsauken Phifer Middle school in New jersey will examine the growth rate in microgravity of penicillium which future astronauts could grow as an antibiotic to treat infections.
Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical school in Massachusetts has a team monitoring the effect of microgravity on the growth of Bacillus subtilis also useful as an antibiotic.
If the skin changes present as a secondary infection antibiotics may be indicated. The affected animal will need to be protected well from the sun in future to prevent permanent damage.
Midwives can administer antibiotics for infections and medications to stimulate or strengthen labor remove the placenta from a patient having a hemorrhage as well as handle many other complications that may occur in the mother or her baby.
and New zealand--by making female flies dependent upon a common antibiotic to survive. Dr. Max Scott professor of entomology at NC State and his research team genetically modified lines of female Australian sheep blowflies (Lucilia cuprina) so that they required doses of tetracycline in order to live.
Female blowflies that did not receive the antibiotic died in the late larval or pupal stages before reaching adulthood.
Several genetically modified lines lacking tetracycline showed 100 percent female deaths. Scott says that the gene construct responsible for lethality in antibiotic-free diets is female-specific Interestingly
and unexpectedly the genetically modified female larvae containing the tetracycline lethality genes also took on a crimson color due to overexpression of the linked red fluorescent protein marker gene.
This allows scientists to tell which larvae will be females and which will be males. Overexpression of the gene responsible for the reliance on tetracycline also seems to overexpress this marker gene Scott says.
Since the females will die when not provided tetracycline in their diets the males can be separated out in the larval stage.
This is essential for a male-only genetic control program to reduce blowfly populations Scott says as fertile males would pass the lethality construct on to female offspring
which would die in the absence of tetracycline. Male larval offspring however would still be dangerous to livestock.
In the study the researchers showed that the tetracycline gene construct also works in Drosophila the fruit fly lab rat of the insect world that is a distant cousin of the sheep blowfly.
This holds promise that the genetic system will function in the New world and Old world screwworm two major livestock pests that are close relatives of the sheep blowfly.
The researchers introduced resistance genes against two different antibiotics into nuclear genomes of the tobacco species Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana glauca
and cultivated it on a growth medium containing both antibiotics so that only cells containing both resistance genes
--which are coupled frequently in a single lotion gel or other delivery substance--in combination with oral antibiotics to address multiple causes and effects of acne.
The widespread use of antibiotics in livestock for preventive or curative purposes or as growth promoters directly contributes to the increasing prevalence of resistant strains of bacteria to antibiotics both at local and global levels.
#Insects represent link for antibiotic resistance traitsthose pesky house flies buzzing around your home or invading your springtime picnic could be doing more harm to human health than you realize.
According to a recent study by Kansas State university published in the Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal insects carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria from one point to another including from food animal farms and wastewater treatment
House flies collected several miles from the wastewater treatment plants in surrounding urban areas had a lower prevalence of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria than those examined from the facilities themselves
The study led the researchers to conclude that insects primarily house flies can pick up antibiotic-resistant bacteria
In addition Zurek's team showed that bacteria in the house fly digestive tract can exchange antibiotic resistance by horizontal gene transfer.
Background on antibiotic resistanceantibiotics since their discovery 70 years ago have saved millions of lives Zurek said.
Unfortunately because of the intensive use of antibiotics in human medicine we pose high pressure on bacteria
and are selected by antibiotic treatments. Currently we have situations where people get infections they die from
because the antibiotics are not effective anymore. The bacteria that caused the infections are multi-drug resistant.
According to a 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www. cdc. gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013) at least 2 million people become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria
and at least 23000 people die each year as a direct result of these infections in the United states. Currently two places where antibiotics are used most widely are hospitals
Antibiotics in food animal production are used not only to treat infections in animals but also in helping animals grow.
Antibiotics in low doses are added as feed additives primarily in poultry and swine diets he said.
At the same time if you use low doses of antibiotics extensively that poses selective pressure on bacteria in the digestive tract of these animals and results in antibiotic resistance.
Humans experiencing more problems with antibiotic resistance could be due to many potential reasons Zurek said including overuse of antibiotics in human medicine and human connection to antibiotic use in food animals.
and where the antibiotic resistance originated. In addition to the insects Zurek and his research team have showed also that wild birds such as ravens
and crows carry multi-drug antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Wild birds can pick up the antibiotic resistant bacteria from fields where animal manure was used as a fertilizer he said.
We still don't know how significant these birds are as carriers. We just know there are multiple venues where wildlife can acquire resistant strains and move them around in the environment.
and Drug Administration last December released its first request to antibiotic manufacturers to voluntarily remove antibiotics from the list for animal growth promoters.
The plan is to phase out antibiotics as a feed additive for growth promotion in United states in the next three years.
The European union (EU) took a precautionary step in 2006 to combat human antibiotic resistance. All EU countries banned antibiotic use as growth promoters in food animals.
Lowering the use of antibiotics in animal industry will be another step to lower prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment
and in human infections Zurek said but because antibiotic resistance in human infections is such a serious global health problem that has led to higher patient mortality rates prolonged hospitalization
and increased healthcare costs it needs to be tackled from many angles. Clearly pest management and trying to minimize the pest populations on farms
They can carry antibiotic resistant bacteria so they should be taken seriously as a vector. Story Source:
#Cow manure harbors diverse new antibiotic resistance genesmanure from dairy cows which is used commonly as a farm soil fertilizer contains a surprising number of newly identified antibiotic resistance genes from the cows'gut bacteria.
The findings reported in mbioâ the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology hints that cow manure is a potential source of new types of antibiotic resistance genes that transfer to bacteria in the soils
where food is grown. Thousands of antibiotic resistance (AR) genes have already been identified but the vast majority of them don't pose a problem
when found in harmless bacteria. The real worry is when these genes appear in the types of pathogenic bacteria that cause food-borne illnesses
The genes made a laboratory strain of Escherichia coli bacteria resistant to one of four types of antibiotics--beta-lactams (like penicillin) aminoglycosides (like kanamycin) tetracycline or chloramphenicol.
The team also found an entire new family of AR genes that confer resistance to chloramphenicol antibiotics which are used commonly to treat respiratory infections in livestock.
so if they acquire antibiotic resistance they could pose a problem. Alternatively benign bacteria in manure might transfer resistance genes to pathogens at any point along the path--in manure soil food or humans.
The infection not only harms animals and farmers'profits but also drives more systemic antibiotic use on dairy farms than any other disease.
and help curb the growing epidemic of antibiotic resistance. The research was published in the journal PLOS One.
It is the number one cause of systemic antibiotic use which floods the whole body with antibiotics rather than just a specific region said Rodrigo Bicalho assistant professor of dairy production medicine at the College of Veterinary medicine.
Three of the vaccines Bicalho's lab created lowered metritis incidence and lessened its symptoms in the cows that received them showing promise for alternatives to antibiotics in addressing the disease.
Our lab has been developing a vaccine for years now based on our research of this disease said Bicalho.
An effective vaccine against uterine diseases will have a significant positive impact on the dairy industry limiting the use of antibiotics and decreasing economic losses due to these disorders.
The Deg-On circuit couples proteasomal degradation of an engineered tetracycline repressor to an easily detectable fluorescent signal.
The tetracycline repressor is engineered to function as a UPS substrate; it essentially mimics a misfolded protein.
The engineered repressor can still be regulated by the antibiotic tetracycline which allows calibrating the system for the detection of even minimal activation of UPS degradation.
so that adding tetracycline further boosts the signal. The Rice team did extensive computer modeling of Deg-On to improve its sensitivity
which is a self-activation loop for the tetracycline repressor in our second circuit (an enhanced Deg-On) Zhao said.
Dangerous infections are diminishing the role of some antibiotics making them less able to treat infections as pathogens are developing resistance to the drugs he said adding that about 23000 people die in the U s. annually because of exposure to pathogens that don't respond to antibiotics.
Further some antibiotics used to treat humans and animals kill good and bad bacteria. Scientists can use the UF study's findings to begin to develop better drugs that target bad pathogens
#Honey offers new approach to fighting antibiotic resistancehoney that delectable condiment for breads and fruits could be one sweet solution to the serious ever-growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics
which weakens bacterial virulence rendering the bacteria more susceptible to conventional antibiotics Meschwitz said. Quorum sensing is the way bacteria communicate with one another
Meschwitz who is with Salve Regina University in Newport R i. said another advantage of honey is that unlike conventional antibiotics it doesn't target the essential growth processes of bacteria.
which is the basis of conventional antibiotics is that it results in the bacteria building up resistance to the drugs.
An additional problem results from the fact that not only infections but also the antibiotics that are used as a remedy may increase the risk for IBS as they too can alter the gut microbiota in a negative way.
Consumer concerns about bacterial resistance to antibiotics have prompted the swine industry to seek additional methods to protect the health of pigs including special feed additives.
and using antibiotics in hives to keep the bees disease-free. To help regulate honey safety We have strict import laws that apply to honey coming from certain countries he says.
because although typhus can be treated with modern antibiotics it remains a threat in remote impoverished areas of South america Asia
The 11 food values they chose to examine included freshness health hormone-free/antibiotic-free animal welfare taste price safety convenience nutrition origin and environmental impact.
In December 2013 the researchers published Effect of chronic lead intoxication on the distribution and elimination of amoxicillin in goats in the Journal of Veterinary Science.
The group found that lead intoxication can impair the therapeutic effectiveness of the antibiotic amoxicillin in goats.
Amoxicillin is used to treat various types of infections in animals Gehring said. The goats with lead intoxication show signs of kidney and liver damage so we had hypothesized this damage would inhibit the excretion of amoxicillin leading to higher drug concentrations in these animals.
The test involved intravenous and intramuscular administration of amoxicillin. Blood and urine samples were collected over a period of 10 weeks to measure serum protein and amoxicillin concentrations.
The protein concentrations helped indicate levels of kidney damage while the amoxicillin levels helped to demonstrate how much of the antibiotic was absorbed for therapeutic purpose.
Surprisingly the lead-intoxicated goats actually had lower concentrations of amoxicillin compared to the healthy animals.
We found that amoxicillin was disposed more quickly in the lead-intoxicated goats than in the control group Gehring said.
We believe that goats with chronic lead intoxication would therefore need more frequent administrations of amoxicillin administration for the antibiotic therapy to be as effective as it is in the control group of healthy goats.
Gehring said a literature investigation had found similar research for lead poisoning in humans but not in animal subjects.
As one of the first studies of its kind she said that the effects of lead intoxication on drug disposition still warrant further investigation.
Such bacterial aggregates are of clinical importance as they provide reservoirs for pathogenic organisms to persist in the host and often display increased resistance to antibiotics.
Bacteria forming biofilms frequently display antibiotic resistance and can be tenacious foes to combat medically.
and could inform the development of tailored microbiota transplants to improve intestinal health after antibiotic use or illness.
Interestingly some of the bacterial genera associated with the ants are known to produce antibiotic substances.
The harmful Burkholderia species are more resistant to antibiotics than the symbiotic and agricultural strains.
In addition to the bioinformatics analysis in the current study the team analyzed resistance to a panel of common antibiotics and tested the potential of different Burkholderia species to cause infection in laboratory conditions.
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