Team discovers how gene resists antibiotic drugs

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) have discovered how a previously overlooked gene is involved in antimicrobial resistance—a growing global issue that threatens the health and welfare of both humans and animals.

The gene encodes for an enzyme named EstT and is capable of “turning off” or inactivating macrolides, a class of antibiotic drugs commonly used to treat disease in cattle and other livestock. 

The researchers’ findings were published online last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a highly cited multidisciplinary scientific journal.

Tylosin, tilmicosin and tildipirosin are some antibiotics classed as macrolides. Veterinarians rely on these drugs to treat illnesses in cattle such as bovine respiratory disease and liver abscesses as well as other diseases in livestock and companion animals.

With this discovery, veterinarians will know “there’s a possibility that the drug will not work because of the presence of the gene,” said Dr. Poonam Dhindwal (PhD) the paper’s lead author and a post-doctoral fellow at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).