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ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Tracing the origins of antibiotic resistance

Nature Medicine volume 28, pages 638–640 (2022)Cite this article

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Antibiotic resistance genes evolve in the environment, in animals, and in humans; strategic action is needed on all three fronts to help understand resistance and to limit its spread.

In a recent edition of Nature, Larsen et al. trace the origins of mecC, a gene responsible for resistance of the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus to the antibiotic methicillin1. Methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA) have long been known to be resistant to virtually all β-lactam antibiotics due to the production of an altered penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a), which is encoded by mecA (first described in 1989) and has a low affinity for β-lactam antibiotics2. In 2007, a homolog was identified that was 70% identical to mecA, but clearly distinct3. This gene was termed mecC and was found mainly in strains of S. aureus isolated from cows, but occasionally also from humans. Over the subsequent years S. aureus strains carrying mecC have been detected in more countries (including the Netherlands, Spain, Bulgaria, and Belgium) and more animal species (including swine, poultry, deer, and hedgehogs). Fortunately, the prevalence of strains carrying mecC found in humans is still very low, and infections are rare, although there is concern that these resistant strains may spread further4.

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Fig. 1: Antimicrobial resistance genes and resistant bacteria are continuously exchanged between humans, animals and the environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Medicine – Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Christina M. J. E. Vandenbroucke-Grauls

  2. Department of Medical Microbiology & Infection Control, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Christina M. J. E. Vandenbroucke-Grauls

  3. Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands

    Jan A. J. W. Kluytmans

Authors
  1. Christina M. J. E. Vandenbroucke-Grauls
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  2. Jan A. J. W. Kluytmans
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Correspondence to Christina M. J. E. Vandenbroucke-Grauls.

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Thea authors declare no competing interests.

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Vandenbroucke-Grauls, C.M.J.E., Kluytmans, J.A.J.W. Tracing the origins of antibiotic resistance. Nat Med 28, 638–640 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01752-z

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