BarcelonaExcessive consumption of antibiotics contributes to changing the genetic material of bacteria, making them stronger to reproduce and evade the effects of drugs. Antibiotics become less effective in treating infections and the risk of interventions such as caesarean sections, surgeries or organ transplants increases. Studying the genome of bacteria is key to finding out whether pathogens have become resistant or whether they can be combated with specific antibiotics. Now, for the first time, the genomic sequences – the complete genetic makeup – of organisms that have developed resistance will be stored in a single database. The Barcelona-based National Center for Genomic Analysis (CNAG) has created a library of nearly half a thousand bacteria, samples collected in 41 Spanish hospitals, called inCREDBle.
Global Health Organization He had been warning for a long timeBy 2050, antibiotic resistance may become the number one cause of death in the world. In Spain, last year alone, 23,300 people died within a month of being diagnosed with an infection caused by multi-resistant bacteria, a number 20 times higher than deaths in traffic accidents. The Health Authority confirms that infections become difficult or impossible to treat if antibiotics fail, and it has set among its priority goals strengthening the knowledge base and evidence by monitoring and researching these bacteria.
how? Identify, analyze and review modifications to your genetic material. These are also the goals of the State Library of Bacteria. The bacterial DNA portal collects a total of 461 antibiotic-resistant strains and complements the genomic profile of bacteria with clinical, geographic and microbiological data, and with other online studies related to antimicrobial resistance, explains CNAG in a statement. “We sequenced 500 antibiotic-resistant bacteria using a combination of state-of-the-art genomic technologies and automated data processing workflows,” explains Tyler Alioto, leader of the genome assembly and annotation team at CNAG, who is also an author on the study. Published in the magazine Microbial genetics.
Pathogen surveillance
The library was created thanks to a new genomic methodology developed by the Biomedical Research Institute of A Coruña (INIBIC), which allows complete bacterial genomes to be obtained more quickly and on a large scale. “It is a very valuable tool for research,” says Miguel Alvarez Tejado, Head of Molecular Solutions Marketing at Roche Diagnostics, who was also involved in the design of this resource. Above all, he adds, it is “valuable” in developing new diagnostic methods and high-impact treatments.
The main goal of the study is to provide more information about the mechanisms by which species of the Enterobacteriaceae family – those that spread most rapidly – acquire antibiotic resistance. One strategy suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to control antimicrobial resistance is surveillance and monitoring of pathogens. “The database we have created allows the identification, localization and monitoring of bacteria carrying one of the most dangerous antibiotic resistance mechanisms,” highlights Germain Bou, Head of the Microbiology Research Group at INIBIC, and Head of the Microbiology Service at the University Hospital Complex. A Coruña.
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