Mobile Genetic Elements and Microbial Multidrug Resistance

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2024 | Viewed by 2572

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
Interests: clinical microbiology, antimicrobial resistance; bacterial fitness; virulence; foodborne pathogens; outbreaks; One Health; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA 30223, USA
Interests: antimicrobial resistance; antibiotic resistance genes; bacterial fitness; bacterial adaptations; virulence; foodborne bacterial pathogens; infectious disease; One Health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top ten public health challenges that face humanity. Microorganisms evolve to become resistant to the antimicrobials that have been used as primary interventions to control associated infectious diseases. The emergence and spread of AMR pose an unprecedented threat to human and veterinary medicine globally. AMR has been associated with high mortality and morbidity and devastating impacts on the economy. Resistance can develop via chromosomal mutations or the acquisition of disparate genetic elements that encode AMR. Resistance can then be transmitted vertically and/or via horizontal gene transfer, driving the evolution of resistant strains and populations. Subsequently, mobile genetic elements (MGEs) can play a paramount role in transmitting resistance genes throughout microbial populations, impacting different hosts and ecological niches, including humans, animals, food, and the environment.

Studies on MGEs are critical to delineate the factors and mechanisms that influence the increasing trends of resistance and provide a valuable resource to devise novel approaches for mitigating the threat of AMR and superbugs. This will also support stakeholders in improving the surveillance of AMR gene flow, identifying genetic reservoirs, and harnessing microbial ecology and evolutionary pathways to control drug-resistant microorganisms.

This Special Issue is focused on 1) addressing the global antimicrobial resistance threat, 2) filling knowledge gaps in the understanding of the transmission dynamics of AMR genes and MGEs, and 3) highlighting new advances and discoveries related to the emergence of problematic MDR organisms, especially those that exhibit resistance to critical and last resort antibiotics. We cordially invite researchers working in these areas to contribute Original Research, Case Reports, and General and Systematic Reviews.

Dr. Marwan Osman
Dr. Issmat Kassem
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antimicrobial resistance
  • mobile genetic rlements
  • plasmids
  • transmission
  • molecular epidemiology
  • next generation sequencing
  • genome analysis
  • nucleotide polymorphism sequence
  • microbial evolution
  • microbial genetics
  • evolutionary biology
  • multidrug resistance
  • outbreaks

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 3453 KiB  
Article
Insight into Antibiotic Synergy Combinations for Eliminating Colistin Heteroresistant Klebsiella pneumoniae
by Sahaya Glingston Rajakani, Basil Britto Xavier, Adwoa Sey, El Bounja Mariem, Christine Lammens, Herman Goossens, Youri Glupczynski and Surbhi Malhotra-Kumar
Genes 2023, 14(7), 1426; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14071426 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1689
Abstract
Colistin heteroresistance has been identified in several bacterial species, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and may underlie antibiotic therapy failures since it most often goes undetected by conventional antimicrobial susceptibility tests. This study utilizes population analysis profiling (PAP) and time–kill assay [...] Read more.
Colistin heteroresistance has been identified in several bacterial species, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and may underlie antibiotic therapy failures since it most often goes undetected by conventional antimicrobial susceptibility tests. This study utilizes population analysis profiling (PAP) and time–kill assay for the detection of heteroresistance in K. pneumoniae and for evaluating the association between in vitro regrowth and heteroresistance. The mechanisms of colistin resistance and the ability of combination therapies to suppress resistance selection were also analysed. In total, 3 (18%) of the 16 colistin-susceptible strains (MIC ≤ 2 mg/L) were confirmed to be heteroresistant to colistin by PAP assay. In contrast to the colistin-susceptible control strains, all three heteroresistant strains showed regrowth when exposed to colistin after 24 h following a rapid bactericidal action. Colistin resistance in all the resistant subpopulations was due to the disruption of the mgrB gene by various insertion elements such as ISKpn14 of the IS1 family and IS903B of the IS5 family. Colistin combined with carbapenems (imipenem, meropenem), aminoglycosides (amikacin, gentamicin) or tigecycline was found to elicit in vitro synergistic effects against these colistin heteroresistant strains. Our experimental results showcase the potential of combination therapies for treatment of K. pneumoniae infections associated with colistin heteroresistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mobile Genetic Elements and Microbial Multidrug Resistance)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop