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Possible New Pathway To Multidrug Resistance Found

A possible new pathway to antibiotic resistance may have been discovered: Some bacteria don't need to be exposed to antibiotics to develop resistance -- all it takes is other bacteria.

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Iowa report in the August 2001 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology that Salmonella bacteria exposed to a compound secreted by a strain of E.coli can develop multidrug resistance.

The compound, known as microcin 24, is an antimicrobial peptide secreted by a strain of E. coli that causes urinary tract infections.

Many bacteria produce microcins as a means of disabling and competing with nearby bacteria. In this study, the researchers were testing Salmonella to see if they developed resistance to microcin 24.

Not only did they develop resistance to the microcin, but also to multiple antibiotics.

"It appears that multidrug-resistant Salmonella can arise as a result of an insult from other pathogenic bacteria," say the researchers. "Microcin production gives an advantage to pathogenic E. coli while also potentially selecting for multidrug-resistant Salmonella."

(Reference: S.A. Carlson, T.S. Frana, and R.W. Griffith. 2001. Antibiotic resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium exposed to microcin-producing Escherichia coli. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 67: 3763-3766.)

15-Aug-2001

 

 

 

 

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