Phylogenetic Considerations in the Evolutionary Development of Aminoglycoside Resistance Genes in Pathogenic Bacteria

Abstract

This study revisits antibiotic resistance as a source of evolutionary development in pathogenic bacteria. By taking a molecular phylogenetic approach to this inquiry, I seek to find homologous correlations in antimicrobial resistance gene families across a broad spectrum of bacteria, as to identify the possible acquisition of those genes through divergent events in evolutionary context. In order to test this, I examine the various degrees of genetic similarity in two antimicrobial resistance genomic datasets, namely aadA1 & aadA2 aminoglycoside resistance genes, among bacteria that occur in a multitude of environments. Moreover, the results from phylogenetic analysis suggests that pathogenic antibiotic resistance for aadA1 & aadA2 aminoglycoside resistance genes may have been acquired through evolutionary events with a common ancestor of a soil-dwelling bacterium.