Publications by authors named "Samantha J Mc Carlie"
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted our reliance on biocides, the increasing prevalence of resistance to biocides is a risk to public health. Bacterial exposure to the biocide, benzalkonium chloride (BAC), resulted in a unique transcriptomic profile, characterised by both a short and long-term response. Differential gene expression was observed in four main areas: motility, membrane composition, proteostasis, and the stress response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHormesis, or the hormetic effect, is a dose- or concentration-dependent response characterised by growth stimulation at low concentrations and inhibition at high concentrations. The impact of sub-lethal levels of disinfectants on the growth of species is critical to understanding the increasing number of outbreaks caused by this pathogen in healthcare settings. sp.
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- Current knowledge about how bacteria resist disinfectants is limited, especially regarding the role of mobile genetic elements like genomic islands.
- Whole-genome sequencing of a disinfectant-resistant isolate revealed nine resistance islands containing various multidrug efflux pump genes and antibiotic resistance genes, indicating complex resistance mechanisms.
- Two specific genomic islands were identified as harboring genes that confer disinfectant resistance, suggesting that genomic islands could play a significant role in biocide resistance, marking a new area for research.
Article Synopsis
- Disinfectants and biosecurity are essential for controlling microbial diseases, but resistance to these disinfectants presents challenges in agriculture and healthcare.
- This study focused on identifying efflux transporters linked to disinfectant resistance in a multidrug-resistant isolate compared to a more susceptible strain.
- Through testing with efflux pump inhibitors, the research found that the resistant strain had fewer total efflux systems, and the addition of inhibitors increased susceptibility to disinfectants, suggesting efflux pumps significantly contribute to disinfectant resistance.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our reliance on disinfectants and sanitizers and the use thereof has grown. While this may protect human health, it may be selecting for antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, including those that are not only capable of growth in the presence of disinfectants but also thrive using this as an energy source. Furthermore, there is a growing concern in emerging nosocomial pathogens, which have shown resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrobial resistance is a significant issue, and it threatens the prevention and effective treatment of a range of bacterial infections. Here, we report the whole-genome sequence of the multidrug-resistant isolate sp. strain HRI.
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