 Emergence of methicillin resistance predates the clinical use of antibioticsJesper Larsen (),
Claire L. Raisen,
Xiaoliang Ba,
Nicholas J. Sadgrove,
Guillermo F. Padilla-González,
Monique S. J. Simmonds,
Igor Loncaric,
Heidrun Kerschner,
Petra Apfalter,
Rainer Hartl,
Ariane Deplano,
Stien Vandendriessche,
Barbora Černá Bolfíková,
Pavel Hulva,
Maiken C. Arendrup,
Rasmus K. Hare,
Céline Barnadas,
Marc Stegger,
Raphael N. Sieber,
Robert L. Skov,
Andreas Petersen,
Øystein Angen,
Sophie L. Rasmussen,
Carmen Espinosa-Gongora,
Frank M. Aarestrup,
Laura J. Lindholm,
Suvi M. Nykäsenoja,
Frederic Laurent,
Karsten Becker,
Birgit Walther,
Corinna Kehrenberg,
Christiane Cuny,
Franziska Layer,
Guido Werner,
Wolfgang Witte,
Ivonne Stamm,
Paolo Moroni,
Hannah J. Jørgensen,
Hermínia Lencastre,
Emilia Cercenado,
Fernando García-Garrote,
Stefan Börjesson,
Sara Hæggman,
Vincent Perreten,
Christopher J. Teale,
Andrew S. Waller,
Bruno Pichon,
Martin D. Curran,
Matthew J. Ellington,
John J. Welch,
Sharon J. Peacock,
David J. Seilly,
Fiona J. E. Morgan,
Julian Parkhill,
Nazreen F. Hadjirin,
Jodi A. Lindsay,
Matthew T. G. Holden,
Giles F. Edwards,
Geoffrey Foster,
Gavin K. Paterson,
Xavier Didelot,
Mark A. Holmes,
Ewan M. Harrison and
Anders R. Larsen
Nature, 2022, vol. 602, issue 7895, 135-141 Abstract: Abstract The discovery of antibiotics more than 80 years ago has led to considerable improvements in human and animal health. Although antibiotic resistance in environmental bacteria is ancient, resistance in human pathogens is thought to be a modern phenomenon that is driven by the clinical use of antibiotics1. Here we show that particular lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—a notorious human pathogen—appeared in European hedgehogs in the pre-antibiotic era. Subsequently, these lineages spread within the local hedgehog populations and between hedgehogs and secondary hosts, including livestock and humans. We also demonstrate that the hedgehog dermatophyte Trichophyton erinacei produces two β-lactam antibiotics that provide a natural selective environment in which methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates have an advantage over susceptible isolates. Together, these results suggest that methicillin resistance emerged in the pre-antibiotic era as a co-evolutionary adaptation of S. aureus to the colonization of dermatophyte-infected hedgehogs. The evolution of clinically relevant antibiotic-resistance genes in wild animals and the connectivity of natural, agricultural and human ecosystems demonstrate that the use of a One Health approach is critical for our understanding and management of antibiotic resistance, which is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development. Date: 2022 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:602:y:2022:i:7895:d:10.1038_s41586-021-04265-w Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04265-w Access Statistics for this article Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper More articles in Nature from Nature |
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