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Captive-bred wallabies may carry antibiotic resistant bacteria into wild populations

Date:
May 22, 2013
Source:
Public Library of Science
Summary:
Endangered brush-tail rock wallabies raised in captive breeding programs carry antibiotic resistance genes in their gut bacteria and may be able to transmit these genes into wild populations, according to new research.
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Endangered brush-tail rock wallabies raised in captive breeding programs carry antibiotic resistance genes in their gut bacteria and may be able to transmit these genes into wild populations, according to research published May 22 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Michelle Power and colleagues from Macquarie University in New South Wales, Australia.

Brush-tail rock wallabies are currently being raised in species recovery programs and restored to the wild to bolster populations of this endangered species. Here, researchers found that nearly half of fecal samples from wallabies raised in these programs contained bacterial genes that encode resistance to streptomycin, spectinomycin and trimethoprim. None of these genes were detected in samples from five wild populations of wallabies. The authors add, "How these genes made their way into the wallaby microbes is unknown, but it seems likely that water or feed may have acted as a conduit for bacteria carrying these genes."

Previous research shows that proximity to humans can increase animals' exposure to antibiotic resistance genes and the organisms that carry them. Antibiotic resistant bacteria have been reported in the wild from chimpanzees in Uganda, Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and a wide range of fish, birds and mammals. According to the researchers, their findings highlight the potential for genes and pathogens from human sources to be spread. Power says, "We found that antibiotic resistance genes from human pathogens have been picked up by endangered rock wallabies in a breeding program, and may spread into the wild when the wallabies are released."


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Journal Reference:

  1. Michelle L. Power, Samantha Emery, Michael R. Gillings. Into the Wild: Dissemination of Antibiotic Resistance Determinants via a Species Recovery Program. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (5): e63017 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063017

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Public Library of Science. "Captive-bred wallabies may carry antibiotic resistant bacteria into wild populations." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 May 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522180307.htm>.
Public Library of Science. (2013, May 22). Captive-bred wallabies may carry antibiotic resistant bacteria into wild populations. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522180307.htm
Public Library of Science. "Captive-bred wallabies may carry antibiotic resistant bacteria into wild populations." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522180307.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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