The Perfect Condition for the Rising of Superbugs: Person-to-Person Contact and Antibiotic Use Are the Key Factors Responsible for the Positive Correlation between Antibiotic Resistance Gene Diversity and Virulence Gene Diversity in Human Metagenomes

  • Articles in SCI Journals
  • Feb, 2021

Domingues, C.P.F., Rebelo, J.S., Pothier, J., Monteiro, F., Nogueira, T. & Dionisio, F. (2021) The perfect condition for the rising of superbugs: person-to-person contact and antibiotic use are the key factors responsible for the positive correlation between antibiotic resistance gene diversity and virulence gene diversity in human metagenomes.

Antibiotics-Basel, 10(5), 605. DOI:10.3390/antibiotics10050605 (IF2021 5,222; Q1 Pharmacology & Pharmacy)
Summary:

Human metagenomes with a high diversity of virulence genes tend to have a high diversity of antibiotic-resistance genes and vice-versa. To understand this positive correlation, we simulated the transfer of these genes and bacterial pathogens in a community of interacting people that take antibiotics when infected by pathogens. Simulations show that people with higher diversity of virulence and resistance genes took antibiotics long ago, not recently. On the other extreme, we find people with low diversity of both gene types because they took antibiotics recently—while antibiotics select specific resistance genes, they also decrease gene diversity by eliminating bacteria. In general, the diversity of virulence and resistance genes becomes positively correlated whenever the transmission probability between people is higher than the probability of losing resistance genes. The positive correlation holds even under changes of several variables, such as the relative or total diversity of virulence and resistance genes, the contamination probability between individuals, the loss rate of resistance genes, or the social network type. Because the loss rate of resistance genes may be shallow, we conclude that the transmission between people and antibiotic usage are the leading causes for the positive correlation between virulence and antibiotic-resistance genes.


https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/10/5/605

Team

  • The Perfect Condition for the Rising of Superbugs: Person-to-Person Contact and Antibiotic Use Are the Key Factors Responsible for the Positive Correlation between Antibiotic Resistance Gene Diversity and Virulence Gene Diversity in Human Metagenomes Célia Ferreira Domingues Evolutionary Ecology - EE
  • The Perfect Condition for the Rising of Superbugs: Person-to-Person Contact and Antibiotic Use Are the Key Factors Responsible for the Positive Correlation between Antibiotic Resistance Gene Diversity and Virulence Gene Diversity in Human Metagenomes Célia Ferreira Domingues Evolutionary Genetics - EG
  • The Perfect Condition for the Rising of Superbugs: Person-to-Person Contact and Antibiotic Use Are the Key Factors Responsible for the Positive Correlation between Antibiotic Resistance Gene Diversity and Virulence Gene Diversity in Human Metagenomes Francisca Monteiro Evolutionary Ecology - EE
  • The Perfect Condition for the Rising of Superbugs: Person-to-Person Contact and Antibiotic Use Are the Key Factors Responsible for the Positive Correlation between Antibiotic Resistance Gene Diversity and Virulence Gene Diversity in Human Metagenomes Francisco Dionísio Evolutionary Ecology - EE
  • The Perfect Condition for the Rising of Superbugs: Person-to-Person Contact and Antibiotic Use Are the Key Factors Responsible for the Positive Correlation between Antibiotic Resistance Gene Diversity and Virulence Gene Diversity in Human Metagenomes João Santos Rebelo Evolutionary Ecology - EE
  • The Perfect Condition for the Rising of Superbugs: Person-to-Person Contact and Antibiotic Use Are the Key Factors Responsible for the Positive Correlation between Antibiotic Resistance Gene Diversity and Virulence Gene Diversity in Human Metagenomes Teresa Nogueira Microbial Genomics and Bioinformatics