Molecular mechanisms of resistance in Enterobacteria and evaluation of antimicrobial activity of synthetic peptides

The increase in cases of hospital infections caused by multi-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, is a major challenge for public health and a problem for the treatment of patients. The identification of genetic mechanisms involved in resistance and the search for new therapies for the treatment have major implications in improvement measures of prevention and control the spread of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Plasmid-mediated colistin-resistance gene, mcr-1 was first described at the end of 2015 and since then has been described in several countries, including Brazil. We identified an outbreak caused by colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Although molecular mechanisms of resistance were investigated, including the mcr-1 gene, they were not identified.The purpose of this study is to sequence the genome of colistin-resistance strains isolated from an outbreak. Clinical dates from patients infected from these strains were evaluated. To determine the risk factors associated with colistin-resistence, a case control study is being carried out. In addition, the results obtained with the sequencing will benefit for the development of new drugs through silencing resistance genes, contributing to development of effective infectioncontrol measures caused by multidrug-resistant strains. Colistin is considered as the last choice for treating infections caused by multiresistant bacteria and the spread of these strains are currently seen as a global alert. Therefore, it is extremely necessary the search for innovative strategies to control these strains.