ProbResist: a database for drug-resistant probiotic bacteria

Abstract

Drug resistance remains a global threat, and the rising trend of consuming probiotic-containing foods, many of which harbor antibiotic resistant determinants, has raised serious health concerns. Currently, the lack of accessibility to location-, drug- and species-specific information of drug-resistant probiotics has hampered efforts to combat the global spread of drug resistance. Here, we describe the development of ProbResist, which is a manually curated online database that catalogs reports of probiotic bacteria that have been experimentally proven to be resistant to antibiotics. ProbResist allows users to search for information of drug resistance in probiotics by querying with the names of the bacteria, antibiotic or location. Retrieved results are presented in a downloadable table format containing the names of the antibiotic, probiotic species, resistant determinants, region where the study was conducted and digital article identifiers (PubMed Identifier and Digital Object Identifier) hyperlinked to the original sources. The webserver also presents a simple analysis of information stored in the database. Given the increasing reports of drug-resistant probiotics, an exclusive database is necessary to catalog them in one platform. It will enable medical practitioners and experts involved in policy making to access this information quickly and conveniently, thus contributing toward the broader goal of combating drug resistance. Database URL https://probresist.com.

In Vitro Probiotic Characterization of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Strains Isolated from Traditional Fermented Dockounou Paste

“…The overuse of antibiotics has resulted in the evolution and prevalence of resistant bacteria. Probiotics isolated from various dietary supplements or foods have demonstrated the ability to resist the effects of antibiotics [53][54][55][56]. Horizontal transfer of antibiotic-resistance genes from these probiotics to pathogenic bacteria residing in the intestinal tract could have significant health implications [54,55].…”

The Potential Harmful Effects of Genetically Engineered Microorganisms (GEMs) on the Intestinal Microbiome and Public Health

“…The place of probiotic consumption should be highlighted in terms of their side effects. Drug resistance remains a universal threat, and the fad of probiotic consumption, many of which contain antibiotic-resistant elements, is a major and serious health concern [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ]. In 2023, emerging issues in probiotic safety arose.…”

“…Transfer of drug resistance Transfer of virulence factors, toxins, ARGs and other detrimental MGEs should be implemented [56][57][58][59][60][61] Interference with the luminal lipid metabolism [62] Genetically modified plants Modified DNA or other MGEs can be laterally transferred to other recipients, spanning prokaryotes, eukaryotes and even people. [1,63] Genome-edited plants, like crops with deliberately altered and potentially harmful sequences, can invade the human microbiome or genome [64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71] GEMs-genetically engineered microorganisms, HGT-horizontal gene transfer, MGEs-mobile genetic elements, mTG-microbial transglutaminase, ARGs-antibiotic resistance genes.…”