Generation and persistence of novel antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Antibiotics are the primary and effective treatment for most infectious diseases, however we are now so dependent on them that the development of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria have become a global health threat. Unregulated use of antibiotics and pharmaceutical pollution of waters in developing countries such as India are believed to promote MDR bacteria. We lack understanding of the processes involved in the distribution, persistence and survival of MDR bacteria in the community and aquatic environment. This project involves following Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa that are resistant to 3^rd generation cephalosporins and carbapenems. Bacteria resistant to these antibiotics produce extended spectrum beta-lactamase enzymes that degrade the antibiotics and render them ineffective. When the project was started, ESBLcarba have not been found in Swedish environments, although some isolates were isolated from patients. This provided us with a unique opportunity to analyze the genetic relationship between the type of antibiotic resistance, virulence, survival and persistence in the environment in Sweden and compare them to those identified in India. We will explore other contributing factors such as global warming and pharmaceutical and metal contamination on genetic responses, growth and persistence in MDR bacteria.

This project is an international collaboration between our group, Prof. Bo Söderquist, USÖ, Prof. Abul Mandal, University of Skövde and Dr. Neelu Nawani, Department of Industrial Biotechnology and Microbiology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Institute, Pune, India.