Disruption of the Gut Microbiome: Clostridium difficile Infection and the Threat of Antibiotic Resistance

Genes

Priscilla A. Johanesen²  Kate E. Mackin²  Melanie L. Hutton²  Milena M. Awad²  Sarah Larcombe²  Jacob M. Amy²  Dena Lyras¹ 

[1] Infection and Immunity Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton 3800, Australia;

关键词: Clostridium difficile;    antibiotic-associated diarrhea;    microbiome;    microbiota;    antibiotic resistance;    mobile genetic elements;   

DOI  :  10.3390/genes6041347

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Clostridium difficile is well recognized as the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, having a significant impact in both health-care and community settings. Central to predisposition to C. difficile infection is disruption of the gut microbiome by antibiotics. Being a Gram-positive anaerobe, C. difficile is intrinsically resistant to a number of antibiotics. Mobile elements encoding antibiotic resistance determinants have also been characterized in this pathogen. While resistance to antibiotics currently used to treat C. difficile infection has not yet been detected, it may be only a matter of time before this occurs, as has been seen with other bacterial pathogens. This review will discuss C. difficile disease pathogenesis, the impact of antibiotic use on inducing disease susceptibility, and the role of antibiotic resistance and mobile elements in C. difficile epidemiology.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.