Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment

Book excerpt: The presence of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment is a cause of growing worldwide concern, as it reveals the extensive impact of antibiotic abuse and other human-related pressures upon microbes. The field of detecting and measuring resistance in the environment has rapidly evolved to a systematic search of organisms and genes. This book will review the available evidence and hypotheses on where antibiotic resistance is coming from and for how long it has been there. Further, it will discuss involved maintenance pressures, resistance spread, traits and laboratory and in-silico strategies to further investigate antibiotic resistance.