Tracking Antibiotic Resistance: Insights From the Appalachian Highlands Microbiome
Location
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Start Date
4-5-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
4-5-2024 11:30 AM
Poster Number
98
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Sean Fox
Faculty Sponsor's Department
Health Sciences
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Presentation Category
Health
Abstract or Artist's Statement
Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is a pathogen’s ability to resist the varying mechanisms of antibiotic drugs, rendering infections as potentially untreatable. This phenomenon occurs through genetic mutations and horizontal gene transfer exacerbated by unselective use of antibiotics. Furthermore, resistance can spread when these MDR pathogens transmit disease in nosocomial, community, or agricultural settings, posing the threat of outbreaks that would be difficult to predict and to contain. MDR presents a challenge in healthcare and agriculture, decreasing efficacy of currently circulating treatments and increasing the global burden of infectious diseases. As MDR rises, creativity in monitoring drug resistance and the search for novel treatments becomes an issue that needs to be prioritized to safeguard both public health and economic stability. The Appalachian Highlands, a region that has been understood to have a rich anthropological history, also stands as one of the most biodiverse areas in the country with little to no exploration in its microbial biodiversity or dynamics that exist within it. Our current research is a tangent of the larger Appalachian Microbiome Project currently being conducted in our laboratory that focuses on a two-folded goal: 1) Identification of the microbial communities that constitute the Appalachian Microbiome, and 2) Determination of the antibiotic resistant profiles (the “Resistome”) of the microbiome found in this unique region. Nine geographical sites were selected, constituting forty-one sample sites that produced one-hundred seventy-six individual bacteria isolated. Frome these, fifty-six bacteria were identified genetically by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and BLAST analysis. Many of the identified bacteria belonged to the Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Bacillus genus. By utilizing the Kirby-Bauer method of antibiotic susceptibility testing, a resistance profile was generated for fifty-three of the isolated bacteria against five different antibiotics. These antibiotics include ampicillin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and kanamycin. Kirby-Bauer approximations revealed two isolates were resistant to all five of the chosen antibiotics, 21 isolates sensitive to only one antibiotic, and 10 isolates sensitive to at least 2 antibiotics, leaving 18 isolates sensitive to at least three of the five treatments. This study highlights the importance of identifying and monitoring antibiotic resistance of the Appalachian region proximal to the city. Currently, there is no knowledge of the microbes found here or what potential antibiotic resistance could lead to public health consequences. By establishing a baseline profile of the microbiome and resistance patterns, we could increase our understanding of the complex microbial community present and monitor for future public health challenges.
Tracking Antibiotic Resistance: Insights From the Appalachian Highlands Microbiome
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Multi-drug resistance (MDR) is a pathogen’s ability to resist the varying mechanisms of antibiotic drugs, rendering infections as potentially untreatable. This phenomenon occurs through genetic mutations and horizontal gene transfer exacerbated by unselective use of antibiotics. Furthermore, resistance can spread when these MDR pathogens transmit disease in nosocomial, community, or agricultural settings, posing the threat of outbreaks that would be difficult to predict and to contain. MDR presents a challenge in healthcare and agriculture, decreasing efficacy of currently circulating treatments and increasing the global burden of infectious diseases. As MDR rises, creativity in monitoring drug resistance and the search for novel treatments becomes an issue that needs to be prioritized to safeguard both public health and economic stability. The Appalachian Highlands, a region that has been understood to have a rich anthropological history, also stands as one of the most biodiverse areas in the country with little to no exploration in its microbial biodiversity or dynamics that exist within it. Our current research is a tangent of the larger Appalachian Microbiome Project currently being conducted in our laboratory that focuses on a two-folded goal: 1) Identification of the microbial communities that constitute the Appalachian Microbiome, and 2) Determination of the antibiotic resistant profiles (the “Resistome”) of the microbiome found in this unique region. Nine geographical sites were selected, constituting forty-one sample sites that produced one-hundred seventy-six individual bacteria isolated. Frome these, fifty-six bacteria were identified genetically by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and BLAST analysis. Many of the identified bacteria belonged to the Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Bacillus genus. By utilizing the Kirby-Bauer method of antibiotic susceptibility testing, a resistance profile was generated for fifty-three of the isolated bacteria against five different antibiotics. These antibiotics include ampicillin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and kanamycin. Kirby-Bauer approximations revealed two isolates were resistant to all five of the chosen antibiotics, 21 isolates sensitive to only one antibiotic, and 10 isolates sensitive to at least 2 antibiotics, leaving 18 isolates sensitive to at least three of the five treatments. This study highlights the importance of identifying and monitoring antibiotic resistance of the Appalachian region proximal to the city. Currently, there is no knowledge of the microbes found here or what potential antibiotic resistance could lead to public health consequences. By establishing a baseline profile of the microbiome and resistance patterns, we could increase our understanding of the complex microbial community present and monitor for future public health challenges.