title: Antibiotic resistance gene discovery in food-producing animals.
abstract: Numerous environmental reservoirs contribute to the widespread antibiotic resistance problem in human pathogens. One environmental reservoir of particular importance is the intestinal bacteria of food-producing animals. In this review I examine recent discoveries of antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural animals. Two types of antibiotic resistance gene discoveries will be discussed: the use of classic microbiological and molecular techniques, such as culturing and PCR, to identify known genes not previously reported in animals; and the application of high-throughput technologies, such as metagenomics, to identify novel genes and gene transfer mechanisms. These discoveries confirm that antibiotics should be limited to prudent uses.
authors.affiliation: Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA 50010, USA. Electronic address: heather.allen@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Heather K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Allen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D056186:Metagenomics