Addressing the Antibiotic Resistance Problem with Probiotics: Reducing the Risk of Its Double-Edged Sword Effect

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a global public health problem that requires our attention. Indiscriminate antibiotic use is a major contributor in the introduction of selective pressures in our natural environments that have significantly contributed in the rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant microbial strains. The use of probiotics in lieu of antibiotic therapy to address certain health conditions in both animals and humans may alleviate these antibiotic-mediated selective pressures. Probiotic use is defined as the actual application of live beneficial microbes to obtain a desired outcome by preventing diseased state or improving general health. Multiple studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of probiotic use in the health of both livestock and humans. As such, probiotics consumption is gaining popularity worldwide. However, concerns have been raised in the use of some probiotics strains that carry antibiotic resistance genes themselves, as they have the potential to pass the antibiotic resistance genes to pathogenic bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, with the current public health concern on antibiotic resistance globally, in this review, we underscore the need to screen probiotic strains that are used in both livestock and human applications to assure their safety and mitigate their potential in significantly contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in our natural environments.

The Rising Tide of Antimicrobial Resistance in Aquaculture: Sources, Sinks and Solutions

“…Bacteriocins are proteinaceous toxins produced by a wide range of bacteria and archaea and have a number of properties similar to antimicrobials that make them ideal candidates for pathogen control: potency, mode of action, target cells receptors, size, and structure [119]. Although their high selectivity make bacteriocins attractive alternatives to classical antibiotics, initial studies indicate that bacteriocinogenic bacteria may harbour AMR genes [119].…”

Susceptibility to antibiotics in isolates of Lactobacillus plantarum RAPD‐type Lp299v, harvested from antibiotic treated, critically ill patients after administration of probiotics

“…controls (Gu, Wei, & Yin, 2012;Wang et al, 2013). However, little is known about a number of critical issues in this context, such as the possible impact of probiotics on the normal microbiological flora (Imperial & Ibana, 2016), and the effects of administered drugs on the antibiotic susceptibility of probiotics. Some experimental animal data support the suggestion that antibiotic resistance genes are transferred to probiotic strains (Mater, Langella, Gérard Corthier, & Flores, 2008), although this aspect has not been studied in the hospital environment.…”

Antibiotic Resistance in Bacterial Isolates from Commercial Probiotics Used in Aquaculture

“…Probiotics are considered as safe and viable alternatives for the health management for improved production in aquaculture (Martinez et al, 2012). Recent studies have shown the presence of genes that confer antibiotic resistance thereby posing a danger of transmission of such genes to pathogenic bacteria through horizontal gene transfer (Imperial et al, 2016). Tetracycline resistant genes viz., tetK, tetL tet M, tetO associated with tetracycline resistance have been reported in bacterial isolates.…”