Scientists from the University of Liverpool recently determined the exact means by which bacteria can swap genetic material with one another — something they conclude can spark the outbreak of infectious diseases.
They have dubbed the process horizontal gene transfer, something that has contributed to numerous problems for humans, including the deadly fact of growing antimicrobial resistance. To track it, scientists turned to three English epidemics of Shigella between 2008 and 2014. They identified epidemiological case information with genome sequencing analysis of the bacteria involved in those cases.
In the process, they found that the transfer of resistance gene-carrying plasmids — small DNA molecules bacteria can transfer horizontally — were the cause of new epidemics.
“Through this study, we’ve been able to show that horizontal gene transfer can rapidly facilitate new epidemics of important pathogens,” Dr. Kate Baker, a researcher from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Integrative Biology, said. “This means that in all areas of AMR research, public health management and surveillance we need to be analysing our pathogen genomes in great detail to understand the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance.”
The study was jointly conducted by the university, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and Public Health England. Study findings were published in Nature Communications.