Genes responsible for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) can spread from microbe to microbe through circular genetic material called plasmids, and this lateral transfer happens in the gut. This week, researchers from Iowa report in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology that the transfer of some AMR plasmids could be prevented by an easily accessible source: zinc supplements.
“This is the first time we’ve discovered that zinc inhibits the plasmid transfer process and has minimal impact on bacteria at lower concentrations,” said microbiologist and study lead author Melha Mellata Ph.D., of Iowa State University. This is important, Mellata said, because killing gut bacteria could destroy the microbiome, which in turn could have negative impacts on a person’s health. “But if we can just prevent plasmid transfer, we can curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance.”
AMR infections are a growing problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, millions of people are diagnosed with AMR infections each year and 35,000 people die from them. When bacteria transfer AMR genes, Mellata said, they often transfer resistance to multiple drugs, meaning that a person could already have a resistant infection before being given antibiotics. Stopping the transfer of plasmids could help slow the spread of AMR genes.
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.01480-24
