Community Series - Characterization of mobile genetic elements associated with acquired resistance mechanisms, Volume II

This Research Topic is the second volume of the 'Community Series - Characterization of mobile genetic elements associated with acquired resistance mechanisms'. Please see the first volume here.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria has caused a public health crisis. Isolates of Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are intrinsically resistant to numerous groups of antibiotics. Acquisition of resistance traits by bacterial isolates can further reduce treatment options of infections. In 2017, the World Health Organization published a list of the most important antibiotic-resistant bacteria at a global level in order to prioritize the research and development of new drugs for the treatment of infections caused by these organisms (https://www.who.int/medicines/publications/global-priority-list-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria/en/). In the last decade, the study of the epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been drastically revolutionized by the introduction of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Even though analysis of NGS data requires bioinformatics skills, they provide detailed resolution for cluster analysis and allow simultaneous detection of virtually all antibiotic resistance genes, virulence traits and mobile genetic elements in an isolate.

The growing trend of acquired resistance is mainly attributed to the emergence of Mobile Genetic Elements (MGEs), including epidemic plasmids, rapidly disseminating resistance genes among different species of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Thus, identification of MDR MGEs in samples from different human, animal and wildlife sources underlines the role of horizontal gene transfer in the dissemination of resistance genes.

This Research Topic welcomes Original Research, Review, and Mini Review articles focusing on the use of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and omics approaches for characterizing mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in critical and high priority pathogens from different reservoirs. This Research Topic covers but is not limited to:

• Characterization of novel MGEs associated with antibiotic resistance mechanisms

• Genomic epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant pathogens

• Unravelling the impact of MGEs in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in non-clinical settings

Frontiers in Microbiology does not publish genome announcements and this collection will not consider descriptive studies which report on sequencing data unless they are accompanied by a clear hypothesis and experimentation and provide insight into the microbiological system or process being studied.

Keywords: Mobile Genetic Elements, Whole Genome Sequencing, Horizontal Gene Transfer, Infectious Pathogens, #CollectionSeries

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.