Antimicrobial resistance: a Biochemical Society position statement

For over a decade, the Biochemical Society has looked to identify and celebrate outstanding science communication talent in molecular biosciences with an annual Science Communication Competition. In 2020, to mark the 10th anniversary of this scheme, the Biochemical Society renamed its Science Communication Competition as the ‘Biochemical Society Science Communication Prize’.The prize has always attracted an international portfolio of engaging and creative voices, and the 2021 edition was no exception. Entries had to be bioscience themed and aimed at the general public and were accepted as written pieces of up to 1500 words or in a media format – such as video or audio, 2–5 minutes long – across two categories: one open to foundation/undergraduate students and another to postgraduate students.The Biochemical Society and the prize judges were impressed with the number of very high standard entries, making competition for this year’s prize as fierce as in previous rounds. These entries were judged by a panel of four experts across science communication practice: Dr Heather Doran (Public Engagement Manager at the Leverhulme Centre for Forensic Science, University of Dundee, and Science Editor for The Biochemist), Dr Sorrel Bunting (Head of Communities and Engagement at Springer Nature Group), Dr Anthea Lacchia (freelance science writer and journalist, audio producer and science communicator) and Joe Burton (Education and Public Engagement Manager at the Linnean Society).The Society is pleased to celebrate the 2021 Biochemical Society Science Communication Prize winners, all of them video entries! The winners of each category receives a cash prize – £300 for the first prize, £200 for the second prize and £100 for the third prize – and access to a mentoring session with an experienced science communicator who can provide advice based on their own career experiences. This prize follows a continued recognition from the Biochemical Society of the importance of science communication and outreach practice and training, which includes the Scientific Outreach Grants and the Introduction to Public Engagement and Science Policy online course.The winning entries in the foundation/undergraduate category covered biomolecular topics as wide as painkillers and the answer to the age-old question ‘How much coffee is too much?’ Resorting to an impressive array of creative techniques, from digital to stop-motion animation, these videos showcased clear and engaging science with remarkable media mastery.The first prize in the foundation/undergraduate category went to Faye Singleton, a third-year undergraduate studying biomedical sciences at the University of York. On receiving the prize, Faye commented: “I've been making YouTube videos since I was 10 years old and have built my audience to 25,000 subscribers. I now focus my videos on all aspects of student life. I wanted to create a topic on something that could be useful to the general public. After some research I found a news article surrounding the adverse effects of Paracetamol. I felt the mechanism to how the drug works as well as the potential dangers of it, were not so commonly known within the general public. This was my gap! I decided to illustrate the complexity of this painkiller into an easy-to-understand narrative, hoping to inform my audience. I was over the moon to find I had received first place in this competition. I'm hoping to pursue a career in medical science communications and hopefully this is just the beginning!”The postgraduate category comprised another inspiring set of prize-winning videos. The first prize went to Madeleine Ball, a PhD student at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. On her prize-winning entry, Madeleine said: “I decided to make my video about the Sonic Hedgehog gene because I had heard about it before even going to university – it made me smile and realise that science wasn’t just about very serious academic pursuits, but that there was light-heartedness and a human-side behind scientific work also.”Madeleine also added: “I love science, and getting the chance to communicate what I’m so passionate about is something that I’ve always wanted to do – this competition was the first time I ever made any video, or piece of science communication aimed at the public and I’m thrilled it went so well! Winning this prize has motivated me to continue making science videos, and has reminded me that no matter where my scientific career may take me, I can embrace the human side of research and keep having fun with it.”The six winning entries can be viewed on the Science Communication Prize webpage hosted on Biochemical Society website.

I loved science and maths at school, which led to an undergraduate degree in physics. Through a final-year project I was introduced to the biosciences. From undertaking this first research project and getting a publication from it, I was hooked – especially on understanding how the structure of macromolecules was linked to their function.I had a typical academic career but at very different institutions – the Open University, Stanford University and Birkbeck, University of London. I began to take on leadership roles as head of department of crystallography and then deputy head of Birkbeck, so was able to take a wider perspective than just my own area of science. This increased even further when I became (the first woman) to run a research council as I had to liaise between academia and the government. I spent the last 10 years of my full-time career as Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent.During this time, I have always taken on wider roles to support the sector especially at a national level – the Council for Science and Technology, President of Universities UK, President of the Royal Society of Biology or Chair of the British Science Association.On retirement, I have taken on a few non-executive roles including Chair of Public Health England and a non-executive member of NHS England/I board. Currently, I am on the board of the Open University and a trustee of HEPI (the Higher Education Policy Institute).I have spent my career mainly in academia. During that time, I benefitted from learned societies including the Biochemical Society. As I progressed I realized that much of my role was to support others, earlier in their careers, whether within my research group, at the university or at a national level. Taking on this role, I can continue to support the biosciences and hopefully provide opportunities for others to flourish.First, I was very impressed by the inclusive way the strategy was developed under the leadership of Professor Sir Peter Downes. Bringing the Society and Portland Press closer together is especially important at this time of change, as well as aiming to make the Society more inclusive by embedding equality and diversity across all strands.The importance of supporting career development is key to ensuring a thriving and sustainable research community. The need for this community to come together to discuss science and to ensure that research can be published and disseminated widely are also important strands to this strategy.So a lot of thought and debate has gone into this strategy. We now need to put it into action!Like all those who communicate science through publishing journals, we are rightly moving to fully open access publications. This takes time – but I am impressed how forward and positively thinking Portland Press and the Society are about this far from easy to implement topic. So evolving open access will continue to be an opportunity and a challenge.We have rightly embedded EDI across all aspects of the Society’s new strategy. This is an area where I have taken a very active interest starting from the earliest stages of my career as one of the few women studying physics at undergraduate level. I think it will be challenging to bring our ambitions for an inclusive and diverse Society into practice, but one to which I am committed.Finally, supporting colleagues in these difficult and uncertain times especially those early on in their careers – we have seen the importance of molecular and cellular biosciences to society as scientists have contributed to control the COVID pandemic. We need to continue to encourage and support those entering into careers in the sciences.A flourishing and diverse community of scientists.Further evolution of open access publications.Ensuring we also look outward as excellent molecular biosciences is essential for our well-being as a society – as we have seen over the last few years.Finally, I realize I have not said anything about the employees of the Biochemical Society and Portland Press. They are a talented group of people under the leadership of the excellent Kate Baillie. Neither have I mentioned the Council of Trustees and members of the various Boards, Committees and Panels. I have been impressed with their expertise and commitment. I look forward to working with you all.

Has the Roberts' Review improved the supply of trained personnel and the career opportunities in the biomolecular sciences?

BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global challenge that disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Environmental contamination by resistant bacteria from animal production facilities is a major driver of the spread of AMR through the food chain, requiring a robust one-health control approach. Traditional culture-based AMR surveillance is time-consuming and less sensitive, and fails to fully capture the spectrum of AMR, evolutionary trends, and epidemiological patterns of AMR spread. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has revolutionized AMR surveillance capabilities. Rapid WGS captures the full AMR spectrum with minimum samples, aids source attribution, and provides insights into trends in AMR spread. The portable Oxford Nanopore® Technology (ONT) platform, coupled with open-source software such as Galaxy and Konstanz Information Miner (KNIME), enables the establishment of a potentially portable, transferable workflow for low-resource settings. This study aimed to assess the AMR burden on four dairy farms in Kandy, Sri Lanka, via a resource-limited LMIC using a low-cost high-throughput screening assay and rapid WGS via ONT with Galaxy and KNIME processing to obtain full antibiotic resistomes.ResultsThe four isolates exhibiting the highest minimum inhibitory concentrations for amoxicillin were identified as Enterobacter cloacae and E. hormaechei by WGS. Chromosomes (4.8 to 4.9 Mb) carry the strain-specific resistance genes blaCMH-1, blaACT-25, fosA_7, and ramA, which are associated with diverse antibiotic classes. Plasmids, including IncFIB (pECLA), IncFII (pECLA), and IncX3, carry multiple resistance genes, including AAC(3)-IIe, AAC(6’)-Ib-cr, APH(3″)-Ib, APH(6)-Id, blaCTX-M-15, blaNDM, blaOXA-1, blaTEM-1, dfrA14, QnrB17, catII, determinant-of-bleomycin-resistance, and sul2. Novel arrangements of insertion sequences were observed in E. hormaechei plasmids. The phenotypic resistance of all the isolates matched the genotypic MDR profiles, including resistance to chloramphenicol, gentamicin, tetracycline, and cotrimoxazole.ConclusionsONT WGS with Galaxy and KNIME processing may be a feasible option for AMR surveillance in resource-limited LMICs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in-house whole-genome analysis workflow in the country tailored for AMR surveillance. The presence of potentially pathogenic high-MIC, MDR Enterobacter spp. with wide resistomes, including the blaNDM gene, emphasizes the urgent need to address AMR in animal production facilities within a one-health framework.

Biochemical Society Transactions is the reviews journal of the Biochemical Society. Publishing concise reviews written by experts in the field it provides a timely snapshot of the latest developments across all areas of the molecular and cellular biosciences. Elevating authors' ideas and expertise, each review includes a perspectives section where authors offer comment on the latest advances, a glimpse of future challenges and highlighting the importance of associated research areas in far broader contexts. As Biochemical Society Transactions celebrates its 50th birthday, the current Editor-in-Chief looks back on the journal's history, and looks forward to the next 50 years.

BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) constitutes a major threat to global health. While antimicrobial misuse or overuse is one of the main drivers for AMR, little is known about the extent to which antibiotic misuse is due to a lack of national government-led efforts to enforce rational use in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsTo assess antimicrobial stewardship and national implementation measures currently in place for optimizing antimicrobial use and for slowing the spread of AMR, we invited public health experts from 138 LMICs to participate in a Global Survey of Experts on Antimicrobial Resistance (GSEAR). Key coverage measures, as reported by experts, were compared across countries and also juxtaposed with estimates collected in the 2020-21 World Health Organization-organized Tripartite AMR Country Self-Assessment Survey (TrACSS).ResultsA total of 352 completed surveys from 118 LMICs were analysed. Experts in 67% of the surveyed countries reported a national action plan (NAP) on AMR, 64% reported legislative policies on antimicrobial use, 58% reported national training programs for health professionals, and 10% reported national monitoring systems for antimicrobials. 51% of LMICs had specific targeted policies to limit the sale and use of protected or reserve antibiotics. While 72% of LMICs had prescription requirements for accessing antibiotics, getting antibiotics without a prescription was reported to be possible in practice in 74% of LMICs. On average, country efforts reported in TrACSS were substantially higher than those seen in GSEAR.ConclusionsIn many LMICs, despite the existence of policies aimed at slowing down the spread of AMR, there are still significant gaps in their implementation and enforcement. Increased national efforts in the areas of enforcement and monitoring of antibiotic use as well as regular monitoring of national efforts are urgently needed to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in LMICs and to slow the spread of AMR globally.

The Biochemical Society identifies and celebrates outstanding science communication talent in the molecular biosciences with its annual Science Communication Prize. Aimee McDonald, from the University of Manchester, won the joint second prize in the media category for students in higher education. Aimee’s entry is titled ‘Chickenpox: a cause for party or panic?’

The Biochemical Society identifies and celebrates outstanding science communication talent in the molecular biosciences with its annual Science Communication Prize. Winnie Koon, from the National University of Singapore, won the joint second prize in the media category for students in higher education. Winnie’s entry is titled ‘Why do perfumes smell different from the sum of their parts?’

The 4th joint UK Biochemical Society and Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) education event, ‘Evolving Molecular Bioscience Education’ took place online on May 27 and 28, 2021. The event, continuing the biennial series, comprised the invited speakers’ talks, group discussions and other participants’ pre-recorded flash presentations. Although the UK dominated, there were also speakers and participants from other European countries and other continents. This special issue includes a varied collection of articles written by the speakers and other participants.

Bacterial virulence as a target for antimicrobial chemotherapy

Antimicrobial agents have propelled medicine into the era of modern healthcare. However, the efficacy of antimicrobial therapies is progressively weakening as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) escalates, representing a profound threat to global health that transcends human, veterinary, and environmental boundaries. The development of AMR arises from multiple drivers, including i) antimicrobial overuse and misuse, ii) insufficient diagnostic practices, and iii) the intrinsic adaptability of microbial genomes. As AMR continues to spread, our ability to combat common infections and undertake routine medical interventions safely is increasingly compromised [1]. Addressing this challenge requires comprehensive research into the genetic basis of resistance mechanisms, surveillance of microbial communities across multiple reservoirs, and the development of novel strategies to counteract AMR [2].The collection presented in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology provides a comprehensive view of the genetic determinants, epidemiology, and functional consequences of AMR across clinical, veterinary, and environmental settings. These studies highlight the need for One Health strategies, integrating surveillance and interventions across humans, animals, and the environment to curb the global spread of AMR.In veterinary settings, the study of AMR reveals both environmental and human-mediated pathways for the dissemination of resistant organisms. that Candida albicans can exhibit paradoxical growth under caspofungin exposure, a phenomenon in which fungal cells resume growth at drug concentrations above the minimum inhibitory concentration. This response is driven by activation of stress-response pathways coupled with segmental aneuploidy, which together confer reversible echinocandin resistance, illustrating how dynamically fungi can adapt their genomes under antimicrobial pressure. Intracellular lifestyle is one strategy some microbes use to evade antimicrobials. In this context, Bao et al. offered a lysosome-centered view of Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis, revealing intracellular survival strategies that indirectly influence therapeutic efficacy and potentially contribute to resistance development.Finally, longitudinal studies, such as that from Zhao et al., can provide an essential perspective to enhance our understanding of AMR evolution and population dynamics. Indeed, this study analysed the Serratia marcescens complex in ICU patients over 11 years, identifying inter-ICU transmission and the accumulation of β-lactamase and carbapenemase genes, highlighting the importance of continuous genomic surveillance Figure 1 highlights the valuable scientific contributions of this collection, exemplifying the breadth and depth of current AMR research. The studies demonstrate that resistance emerges through adaptation to intracellular lifestyle and diverse genetic mechanisms, including plasmid-mediated gene acquisition, point mutations, efflux operons, and genome-scale rearrangements. Surveillance across clinical, community, veterinary, and environmental reservoirs is indispensable to identify emerging threats, while mechanistic studies guide the development of targeted interventions. Additionally, the works highlight the importance of combining genomic, phenotypic, and epidemiological approaches to fully understand the evolution and fitness costs associated with resistance.Altogether, this collection underscores the urgent need for One Health approaches to combat AMR. It advocates investment in diagnostics, genomic surveillance, and strategies to limit its spread, as deepening our understanding of AMR sharpens surveillance and therapeutic precision while informing policies that bridge human, animal, and environmental health. By fostering interdisciplinary and mechanistic research, the field moves closer to preserving the effectiveness of antimicrobials that underpin modern medicine.

Resistance to last-resort antibiotics is a global threat to public health. Therefore, surveillance and monitoring systems for antimicrobial resistance should be established on a national and international scale. For the development of a One Health surveillance system, we collected exemplary data on carbapenem and colistin-resistant bacterial isolates from human, animal, food, and environmental sources. We pooled secondary data from routine screenings, hospital outbreak investigations, and studies on antimicrobial resistance. For a joint One Health evaluation, this study incorporates epidemiological metadata with phenotypic resistance information and molecular data on the isolate level. To harmonise the heterogeneous original information for the intended use, we developed a generic strategy. By defining and categorising variables, followed by plausibility checks, we created a catalogue for prospective data collections and applied it to our dataset, enabling us to perform preliminary descriptive statistical analyses. This study shows the complexity of data management using heterogeneous secondary data pools and gives an insight into the early stages of the development of an AMR surveillance programme using secondary data.