Abstract
Simple SummaryAntimicrobials represent useful tools to fight bacterial infections that could harm human and animal health. Antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally or can be induced by the misuse of antibiotics. Its occurrence limits the efficiency of antibiotics and therefore the possibility to treat infections effectively. This can lead to an increasing severity of infectious diseases in humans and animals. Here, we describe the development of a workflow that provides a qualitative representation of the antimicrobial genes that are translated into proteins. Since proteins are ultimately the real effectors, the method herein described demonstrates that those genes are effectively enhancing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The presented method is independent of any amplification step and provides useful information on the dynamics of the biochemical functions accomplished by the raw milk bacterial consortium.The environment, including animals and animal products, is colonized by bacterial species that are typical and specific of every different ecological niche. Natural and human-related ecological pressure promotes the selection and expression of genes related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These genes might be present in a bacterial consortium but might not necessarily be expressed. Their expression could be induced by the presence of antimicrobial compounds that could originate from a given ecological niche or from human activity. In this work, we applied (meta)proteomics analysis of bacterial compartment of raw milk in order to obtain a method that provides a measurement of circulating AMR involved proteins and gathers information about the whole bacterial composition. Results from milk analysis revealed the presence of 29 proteins/proteoforms linked to AMR. The detection of mainly β-lactamases suggests the possibility of using the milk microbiome as a bioindicator for the investigation of AMR. Moreover, it was possible to achieve a culture-free qualitative and functional analysis of raw milk bacterial consortia.
Highlights
Bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to a greater number of antibiotics
The samples were subsequently centrifuged to collect the bacterial pellet. This allowed a consistent enrichment of bacteria in a 30-min workflow
Inter- and intra-specific recombination may lead to the creation of single and multi-drug resistant bacteria that might be harmful for the environment and human health [20,21,22]
Summary
Bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to a greater number of antibiotics. Bacteria can be intrinsically resistant to different classes of antibiotics conferring, to a given ecological niche, a certain level of resistance. The bacterial intrinsic resistome is defined as the entirety of elements contributing to antibiotic resistance regardless of previous exposure to antibiotics [2]. Soil microorganisms are carriers of resistance genes to many classes of antibiotics independently from human-derived antimicrobial pressure. The intrinsic resistome predates the clinical use of antibiotics posing the question whether AMR occurred earlier than the human antibiotics production and spread [3]. Occurring AMR is related to the biological pressure of every ecological environment/niche that implicates the bacteria-bacteria competition or the bacteria-fungi competition. Penicillin was the first discovered antibiotic and is produced by the fungi of the genus
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
