Novel Soil-Derived Beta-Lactam, Chloramphenicol, Fosfomycin and Trimethoprim Resistance Genes Revealed by Functional Metagenomics.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in soil are considered to represent one of the largest environmental resistomes on our planet. As these genes can potentially be disseminated among microorganisms via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and in some cases are acquired by clinical pathogens, knowledge about their diversity, mobility and encoded resistance spectra gained increasing public attention. This knowledge offers opportunities with respect to improved risk prediction and development of strategies to tackle antibiotic resistance, and might help to direct the design of novel antibiotics, before further resistances reach hospital settings or the animal sector.

Discovery of Novel Antibiotic Resistance Determinants in Forest and Grassland Soil Metagenomes.

Soil represents a significant reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), which can potentially spread across distinct ecosystems and be acquired by pathogens threatening human as well as animal health. Currently, information on the identity and diversity of these genes, enabling anticipation of possible future resistance development in clinical environments and the livestock sector, is lacking. In this study, we applied functional metagenomics to discover novel sulfonamide as well as tetracycline resistance genes in soils derived from forest and grassland.

Phage vB_BsuP-Goe1: the smallest identified lytic phage of Bacillus subtilis.

Currently, interest in phage science is on the rise again as this subject remains largely unexplored, and its potential diversity mainly untapped. Here, we present phage vB_BsuP-Goe1, a new isolate that infects Bacillus subtilis The phage forms round plaques with a matt outline on agar plates containing a B. subtilis Δ6 lawn.