A Safe Microbe No More? Emerging Antibiotic Resistance in Probiotic Bacillus subtilis
Keywords:
Acquired resistance, Gene transfer, Middle income countries, Gene sequencingAbstract
Bacillus subtilis is a GRAS-type spore-forming bacterium that is prevalent in nature and gaining popularity in the probiotic supplementation. Although the one is non-pathogenic, recent research reports show alarming signs of antibiotic resistance (AR) features that can pose a risk to human health in terms of direct infection, environmental permanence, and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to pathogens. This is a review that summarizes existing information on the AR mechanisms in B. subtilis, its transmission patterns, clinical significance, and regulation. We posit that its spores and unregulated use of probiotics make the bacteria a silent perpetrator in the worldwide antimicrobial resistance (AMR) epidemic. There is an urgent need to have an interdisciplinary cooperation across many fields, including microbiology, clinical practice, and policy, to reduce risks.
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