Cutting-edge technology sheds light on antibiotic resistance
Article continues below
To help identify the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria as early as possible, and take steps to control their further spread, the FDA is using cutting-edge technology called whole genome sequencing (WGS).
A genome is an organism’s complete set of genes. In the 20 years since the first bacterial genome was completely sequenced, the science has advanced dramatically.
The first bacterial genome sequence was uncovered in 1995 at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars and many months of work. Now it costs around $50 per genome and dozens can be done together overnight.
“For the first time, we can rapidly determine the entire collection of known antibiotic resistance genes in an individual bacterium. This is allowing new insights into the nature and magnitude of the resistance threat,” says Patrick McDermott, Ph.D., director of FDA’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS).
“And, because the database of resistance genes is growing, due to work by scientists around the globe, we can see what others are finding and quickly ascertain if resistance threats emerging in other countries also are present in the United States.”
Whole genome sequencing is also revealing new types of resistance genes in disease-causing bacteria, says McDermott.
For example, NARMS data showed a rapid rise in gentamicin resistance in the foodborne bacteria, Campylobacter. Gentamicin is an antibiotic used to treat certain serious bacterial infections. WGS analysis showed that the genes causing this resistance are numerous, and most had never been seen before. ■