Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p>Resistance to insecticides and herbicides has cost billions of U.S. dollars in the agricultural sector and could result in millions of lives lost to insect-vectored diseases. We mostly continue to use pesticides as if resistance is a temporary issue that will be addressed by commercialization of new pesticides with novel modes of action. However, current evidence suggests that insect and weed evolution may outstrip our ability to replace outmoded chemicals and other control mechanisms. To avoid this outcome, we must address the mix of ecological, genetic, economic, and sociopolitical factors that prevent implementation of sustainable pest management practices. We offer an ambitious proposition.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has been vital for revealing the rapid temporal and spatial evolution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens. Some antimicrobial-resistant pathogens have outpaced us, with untreatable infections appearing in hospitals and the community. However, WGS has additionally provided us with enough knowledge to initiate countermeasures. Although we cannot stop bacterial adaptation, the predictability of many evolutionary processes in AMR bacteria offers us an opportunity to channel them using new control strategies. Furthermore, by using WGS for coordinating surveillance and to create a more fundamental understanding of the outcome of antimicrobial treatment and AMR mechanisms, we can use current and future antimicrobials more effectively and aim to extend their longevity.</jats:p>

<jats:p>The recent rate of emergence of pathogenic fungi that are resistant to the limited number of commonly used antifungal agents is unprecedented. The azoles, for example, are used not only for human and animal health care and crop protection but also in antifouling coatings and timber preservation. The ubiquity and multiple uses of azoles have hastened the independent evolution of resistance in many environments. One consequence is an increasing risk in human health care from naturally occurring opportunistic fungal pathogens that have acquired resistance to this broad class of chemicals. To avoid a global collapse in our ability to control fungal infections and to avoid critical failures in medicine and food security, we must improve our stewardship of extant chemicals, promote new antifungal discovery, and leverage emerging technologies for alternative solutions.</jats:p>

<jats:p>Prokaryotes in natural environments respond rapidly to high concentrations of chemicals and physical stresses. Exposure to anthropogenic toxic substances—such as oil, chlorinated solvents, or antibiotics—favors the evolution of resistant phenotypes, some of which can use contaminants as an exclusive carbon source or as electron donors and acceptors. Microorganisms similarly adapt to extreme pH, metal, or osmotic stress. The metabolic plasticity of prokaryotes can thus be harnessed for bioremediation and can be exploited in a variety of ways, ranging from stimulated natural attenuation to bioaugmentation and from wastewater treatment to habitat restoration.</jats:p>