Seminar - How to fight antimicrobial resistance with evolution

Sponsored by UBC Department of Microbiology & Immunology

Abstract: We urgently need novel approaches to fight the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance. The effectiveness of any new approach depends on a deeper understanding of the underlying genetic and evolutionary mechanisms underpinning the emergence and dissemination of resistance. I will present research using experimental evolution, genomic sequencing, and mathematical modelling to investigate the potential of evolutionary biology for suppressing resistance evolution. Our experiments have uncovered several unforeseen aspects of resistance evolution in response to antibiotic treatment. For instance, we find that the presence of absence of single genes can be key to evolving high-level resistance, and that multi-drug resistance can emerge even under conditions where it provides no benefit. In addition, selecting for resistance may inadvertently lead to an increase in mutation rates, which can enhance the evolutionary potential for organisms to develop resistance to additional drugs. This work involves a combination of experimental evolution, genomics and mathematical modelling to better inform our approach to using antibiotics.