Comparing Selection on S. aureus between Antimicrobial Peptides and Common Antibiotics |
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| Authors: | Adam J Dobson Joanne Purves Wojciech Kamysz Jens Rolff |
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| Institution: | 1. Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, United Kingdom.; 2. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America.; 3. School of Molecular Medical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.; 4. Faculty of Pharmacy, Gdansk University of Medicine, Gdansk, Poland.; 5. Institute of Biology, Free University Berlin, Berlin, Germany.; Rockefeller University, United States of America, |
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| Abstract: | With a diminishing number of effective antibiotics, there has been interest in developing antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as drugs. However, any new drug faces potential bacterial resistance evolution. Here, we experimentally compare resistance evolution in Staphylococcus aureus selected by three AMPs (from mammals, amphibians and insects), a combination of two AMPs, and two antibiotics: the powerful last-resort vancomycin and the classic streptomycin. We find that resistance evolves readily against single AMPs and against streptomycin, with no detectable fitness cost. However the response to selection from our combination of AMPs led to extinction, in a fashion qualitatively similar to vancomycin. This is consistent with the hypothesis that simultaneous release of multiple AMPs during immune responses is a factor which constrains evolution of AMP resistant pathogens. |
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