M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada L8N 3Z5.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2010 Oct;13(5):589-94. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2010.08.005. Epub 2010 Sep 16.
The emergence of resistance to all classes of antibiotics in previously susceptible bacterial pathogens is a major challenge to infectious disease medicine. The origin of the genes associated with resistance has long been a mystery. There is a growing body of evidence that is demonstrating that environmental microbes are highly drug resistant. The genes that make up this environmental resistome have the potential to be transferred to pathogens and indeed there is some evidence that at least some clinically relevant resistance genes have originated in environmental microbes. Understanding the extent of the environmental resistome and its mobilization into pathogenic bacteria is essential for the management and discovery of antibiotics.
抗生素耐药性的出现是传染病医学面临的主要挑战。与耐药性相关的基因的起源长期以来一直是个谜。越来越多的证据表明，环境微生物具有很强的耐药性。构成环境耐药组的基因有可能转移到病原体中，事实上，有一些证据表明，至少有一些与临床相关的耐药基因起源于环境微生物。了解环境耐药组的范围及其向病原菌的转移对于抗生素的管理和发现至关重要。
