Cryptic Genes as Building Blocks of Antimicrobial Resistance: Evidence from a Novel Marine Imipenem-Hydrolyzing Metallo-β-Lactamase
The emergence of antimicrobial resistant pathogens has led to increase in mortality rate, longer hospital stays, and need for complex and expensive treatment regimens. However, it is not very clear from where does the bacteria get the building blocks to develop resistance to these synthetic antimicrobial agents which have been integral part of modern medicine. One hypothesis is that non-coding…
The rise in the mortality rate, prolonged hospital stays, and the necessity for intricate and costly treatment plans due to antimicrobial-resistant pathogens highlights the urgent need to understand their origins. A hypothesis suggests that non-coding cryptic genes, which lack vital functions or positive contributions to bacterial fitness, function as versatile endogenous genetic reservoirs.
These cryptic genes facilitate bacterial adaptation and the evolution of new traits in response to environmental changes. This research identifies a putative cryptic metallo-beta-lactamase gene within the marine bacterium Cytobacillus oceanisediminis, obtained from the Gulf of Mannar in India. Through a combination of computational, laboratory, and animal studies, the team demonstrates that this hypothetical metallo-beta-lactamase gene codes for an enzyme capable of breaking down a specific antibiotic, imipenem.
The enzyme possesses two distinct structural domains known as HXHXDH and TPGH. Importantly, this gene does not exhibit any similarities with other reported Metallo-beta-lactamase genes. The results emphasize the critical importance of conducting thorough investigations into potential cryptic antimicrobial resistance genes to effectively tackle and manage the global issue of antimicrobial resistance.
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