New research article: Development and Clinical Application of a Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme for Bacteroides fragilis Based on Whole-Genome Sequencing Data

New system to help monitor the global spread and progression of antibiotic resistance in our gut microbiome. Researchers at the Department of Clinical Microbiology at OUH, have just developed a new molecular-typing system for the bacterium Bacteroides fragilis. This bacterium lives naturally in the gut of most people and has unfortunately been known to develop increasingly potent resistance to multiple antibiotics. This typing system uses the genetic material of the bacterium and makes it possible to follow it global development with high accuracy. The system is connected to a large database where the genetic material from several hundred B. fragilis bacteria have already been registered. Over time, this database will make it possible to not only monitor antibiotic resistance, but also its involvement in infectious diseases and its possible link to colorectal cancer.

https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.05111-22

Correspondence: Flemming Damgaard Nielsen.