This is an unedited manuscript accepted for publication and provided as an Article in Press for early access at the author’s request. The article will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and galley proof review before final publication. Please be aware that errors may be identified during production that could affect the content. All legal disclaimers of the journal apply.
Masirah Shaikh,
Bhagyashri Pawar,
Shruti Chougule,
Raju Rathod,
- Student, Shree Ambabai Talim Sanstha’s, Diploma in Pharmacy college, Miraj,Maharashtra-4166410, India
- Student, Shree Ambabai Talim Sanstha’s, Diploma in Pharmacy college, Miraj,Maharashtra-4166410, India
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Shree Ambabai Talim Sanstha’s, Diploma in Pharmacy college, Miraj,Maharashtra-4166410, India
- Assistant professor, Shree Ambabai Talim Sanstha’s, Diploma in Pharmacy college, Miraj,Maharashtra-4166410, India
Abstract
The global emergence of clinically significant antibiotic resistance is increasingly linked to the environment. Antimicrobials, metals, and biocides are just a few of the substances that are released into the environment through paths that are regulated by environmental regulators. Consequently, environmental regulators ought to be heavily involved in developing national and international antimicrobial resistance (AMR) measures. Antimicrobial compounds from pharmaceutical waste, agricultural runoff, and wastewater discharge contribute to the spread of resistance genes in natural ecosystems. However, many AMR action plans lack strategies addressing environmental reservoirs due to limited understanding of AMR pathways and pollutant-microbe interactions. Environmental regulators, such as England’s Environment Agency, can help by monitoring pollutants, enforcing antimicrobial discharge regulations, and collaborating with public health and agricultural sectors. Their role should expand beyond pollution control to include research, surveillance, and risk assessment. Strengthening their involvement will enhance AMR action plans, leading to more effective global mitigation strategies. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the issue of AMR in the environment from the viewpoint of an environmental regulator by utilizing the Environment Agency, which is the regulatory body in England, as an example from which global comparisons can be made. There are some suggested thought experiments.
Keywords: Plasmid, Genes, Metals, Biocide, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Antibiotics
Masirah Shaikh, Bhagyashri Pawar, Shruti Chougule, Raju Rathod. Antibiotic Resistance in Microbes: History, Mechanisms, Therapeutic Approaches, and Strategies for Mitigation. International Journal of Antibiotics. 2025; ():-.
Masirah Shaikh, Bhagyashri Pawar, Shruti Chougule, Raju Rathod. Antibiotic Resistance in Microbes: History, Mechanisms, Therapeutic Approaches, and Strategies for Mitigation. International Journal of Antibiotics. 2025; ():-. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/ijab/article=2025/view=196838
References
- Mazel D, Davies J. Antibiotic resistance in microbes. Cell Mol Life Sci. 1999 Nov;56:742-54.
- Uddin TM, Chakraborty AJ, Khusro A, Zidan BR, Mitra S, Emran TB, et al. Antibiotic resistance in microbes: History, mechanisms, therapeutic strategies and future prospects. J Infect Public Health. 2021 Dec;14(12):1750-66.
- Khare T, Anand U, Dey A, Assaraf YG, Chen ZS, Liu Z, et al. Exploring phytochemicals for combating antibiotic resistance in microbial pathogens. Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jul 21;12:720726.
- Davies J. Microbes have the last word: A drastic re‐evaluation of antimicrobial treatment is needed to overcome the threat of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria. EMBO Rep. 2007 Jul;8(7):616-21.
- Dickinson AW, Power A, Hansen MG, Brandt KK, Piliposian G, Appleby P, et al. Heavy metal pollution and co-selection for antibiotic resistance: A microbial palaeontology approach. Environ Int. 2019 Nov;132:105117.
- Wright GD. Antibiotic resistance in the environment: a link to the clinic. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2010 Oct;13(5):589-94.
- Letten AD, Hall AR, Levine JM. Using ecological coexistence theory to understand antibiotic resistance and microbial competition. Nat Ecol Evol. 2021 Apr;5(4):431-41.
- Watterson WJ, Tanyeri M, Watson AR, Cham CM, Shan Y, Chang EB, et al. Droplet-based high-throughput cultivation for accurate screening of antibiotic-resistant gut microbes. Elife. 2020 Jun 17;9:e56998.
- Amabile-Cuevas CF, Cardenas-Garcia M, Ludgar M. Antibiotic resistance. Am Sci. 1995 Jul;83(4):320-9.
- Levy SB. The challenge of antibiotic resistance. Sci Am. 1998 Mar;278(3):46-53.
- Davies J, Davies D. Origins and evolution of antibiotic resistance. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2010 Sep;74(3):417-33.
- Shalchi Z, Gurbaxani A, Baker M, Nash J. Antibiotic resistance in microbial keratitis: ten-year experience of corneal scrapes in the United Kingdom. Ophthalmology. 2011 Nov;118(11):2161-5.
- Gao FZ, He LY, He LX, Zou HY, Zhang M, Wu DL, et al. Untreated swine wastes changed antibiotic resistance and microbial community in the soils and impacted abundances of antibiotic resistance genes in the vegetables. Sci Total Environ. 2020 Nov;741:140482.
- Lewis R. The rise of antibiotic-resistant infections. FDA Consum. 1995;29(7):11-5.
- D’Costa VM, King CE, Kalan L, Morar M, Sung WW, Schwarz C, et al. Antibiotic resistance is ancient. Nature. 2011 Sep 22;477(7365):457-61.
- Chakraborty C, Bhattacharya M, Sharma AR, Roy SS, Islam MA, Chakraborty S, et al. Deep learning research should be encouraged for diagnosis and treatment of antibiotic resistance of microbial infections in treatment-associated emergencies in hospitals. Int J Surg. 2022 Sep;105:106857.
- Aslam B, Wang W, Arshad MI, Khurshid M, Muzammil S, Rasool MH, et al. Antibiotic resistance: a rundown of a global crisis. Infect Drug Resist. 2018 Oct 10:1645-58.
- Moon SH, Roh HS, Kim YH, Kim JE, Ko JY, Ro YS. Antibiotic resistance of microbial strains isolated from Korean acne patients. J Dermatol. 2012 Oct;39(10):833-7.
- Vega NM, Gore J. Collective antibiotic resistance: mechanisms and implications. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2014 Oct;21:28-34.
- Bowater L. The microbes fight back: antibiotic resistance. Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry; 2016 Dec 16.
- Baquero F, Martínez JL, Cantón R. Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in water environments. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2008 Jun;19(3):260-5.
- Kumawat M, Nabi B, Daswani M, Viquar I, Pal N, Sharma P, et al. Role of bacterial efflux pump proteins in antibiotic resistance across microbial species. Microb Pathog. 2023 Aug;181:106182.
- Podolsky SH. The evolving response to antibiotic resistance (1945–2018). Palgrave Commun. 2018 Dec;4(1).
- Richardson LA. Understanding and overcoming antibiotic resistance. PLoS Biol. 2017 Aug 23;15(8):e2003775.
- Wu N, Xie S, Zeng M, Xu X, Li Y, Liu X, et al. Impacts of pile temperature on antibiotic resistance, metal resistance and microbial community during swine manure composting. Sci Total Environ. 2020 Nov;744:140920.
- Rather MA, Gupta K, Mandal M. Microbial biofilm: formation, architecture, antibiotic resistance, and control strategies. Braz J Microbiol. 2021 Dec:1-8.
- Chin KW, Tiong HL, Luang-In V, Ma NL. An overview of antibiotic and antibiotic resistance. Environ Adv. 2023 Apr;11:100331.
- Qiu D, Ke M, Zhang Q, Zhang F, Lu T, Sun L, et al. Response of microbial antibiotic resistance to pesticides: An emerging health threat. Sci Total Environ. 2022 Dec;850:158057.
- Yoneyama H, Katsumata R. Antibiotic resistance in bacteria and its future for novel antibiotic development. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2006 May 23;70(5):1060-75.
- Subramaniam G, Girish M. Antibiotic resistance—A cause for reemergence of infections. Indian J Pediatr. 2020 Nov;87(11):937-44.
- Baron SA, Diene SM, Rolain JM. Human microbiomes and antibiotic resistance. Hum Microbiome J. 2018 Dec;10:43-52.
- Sengupta S, Chattopadhyay MK, Grossart HP. The multifaceted roles of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in nature. Front Microbiol. 2013 Mar 12;4:47.
- Zhang Y. Mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in the microbial world. Baltimore, USA; 2007.
- Wright GD. Q&A: Antibiotic resistance: where does it come from and what can we do about it. BMC Biol. 2010 Dec;8:1-6.
- Wencewicz TA. Crossroads of antibiotic resistance and biosynthesis. J Mol Biol. 2019 Aug;431(18):3370-99.
- Normark BH, Normark S. Evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance. J Intern Med. 2002 Aug;252(2):91-106.
- Sommer MO, Dantas G, Church GM. Functional characterization of the antibiotic resistance reservoir in the human microflora. Science. 2009 Aug;325(5944):1128-31.
- Pachori P, Gothalwal R, Gandhi P. Emergence of antibiotic resistance Pseudomonas aeruginosa in intensive care unit; a critical review. Genes Dis. 2019 Jun;6(2):109-19.
- Macfarlane S. Antibiotic treatments and microbes in the gut. Environ Microbiol. 2014 Apr;16(4):919-24.
- Dodds DR. Antibiotic resistance: A current epilogue. Biochem Pharmacol. 2017 Jun;134:139-46.
- Opal SM. Non-antibiotic treatments for bacterial diseases in an era of progressive antibiotic resistance. Crit Care. 2016 Dec;20:1-3.
- Wright GD, Poinar H. Antibiotic resistance is ancient: implications for drug discovery. Trends Microbiol. 2012 Apr;20(4):157-9.

International Journal of Antibiotics
Volume | |
Received | 20/01/2025 |
Accepted | 29/01/2025 |
Published | 03/02/2025 |