Ev Med Potluck: Ancient Microbial Antibiotic-Resistance Genes Found in Late Pleistocene Permafrost

In this study, researchers extracted aDNA from ~30kya Alaskan Permafrost sediments and detected genes conveying resistance to penicillin, tetracycline, and vancomycin. This finding demonstrates that the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in modern microbes is likely usually via horizontal genes transfer of genes already in existence and accounts for the rapidity with which antibiotic resistance can develop.