The prolonged usage of colistin in livestock may bring about the rise of bacteria resistant to antibiotic. Following the discovery of mcr-1 gene (a new plasmid-encoded colistin resistance mechanism) by scientists in China in 2015, a research team led by Prof. Chen Sheng of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology has developed a sensitive method for isolation of mcr-1-bearing bacteria from various sources and investigated the prevalence of mcr-1 in various sample types.
Using this method, Prof. Chen found that bacteria carrying the colistin resistance gene mcr-1 commonly exist in human and various types of food and environmental samples collected from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. The prevalence of this resistance gene in our ecosystem could challenge the role of colistin as the last resort antibiotic to treat infections. Such findings call for the need to develop effective inhibitors of mcr-1 or intervention measures that can disrupt the transmission of mcr-1-bearing plasmids. Details>>