In Brazil, a study conducted by researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo (USP) and collaborators showed that deforestation in the Amazon causes an increase in the diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
In Brazil, a study conducted by researchers affiliated with the University of São Paulo (USP) and collaborators showed that deforestation in the Amazon causes an increase in the diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. An article on the study, published in Soil Biology and Biochemistry, compares the microorganisms that live in the soil of native forest with those found in pasture and croplands. The researchers found a far larger number of genes considered markers of antibiotic resistance in deforested than forested areas.
“Bacteria produce substances with which to attack each other in a competition for resources that’s usual in any environment. When an area is deforested, however, several factors intensify this competition, favoring the bacteria that can resist these substances. If they reach humans, these microorganisms can become a major problem,” said Lucas William Mendes, a researcher supported by FAPESP at USP’s Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA) in Piracicaba, in the state of São Paulo, and last author of the article.
Read more at: Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo
Study suggests that replacing native vegetation with pasture or crops increases competition among microorganisms, favoring those with antimicrobial resistance genes (Photo Credit: CENA-USP)
