科学美国人60秒 刺猬宿主抗生素耐药性的进化

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Hedgehogs Host the Evolution of Antibiotic¹ Resistance

刺猬宿主抗生素耐药性的进化

Karen Hopkin: This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin.

Hedgehogs are a lot of things. They’re small and spiky³, covered in quills⁴. And some people even say they’re cute. Now, a new study says that they are also the origin of resistance to methicillin, an antibiotic derived⁵ from penicillin⁶. That pointed⁷ observation appears in the journal Nature.

凯伦·霍普金：这是《科学美国人》的60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。

刺猬是很多东西。它们又小又尖，上面覆盖着羽毛笔。有些人甚至说他们很可爱。现在，一项新的研究表明，它们也是对甲氧西林（一种源自青霉素的抗生素）产生耐药性的根源。这一尖锐的观察结果发表在《自然》杂志上。

Antibiotic resistance is a huge clinical problem. And methicillin-resistant⁸ Staphylococcus aureus…otherwise known as M-R-S-A or MRSA…can be difficult to treat as many have developed resistance to a handful of our frontline therapeutics.

抗生素耐药性是一个巨大的临床问题。而耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌……又称为M-R-S-A或MRSA……可能很难治疗，因为许多人对我们的一线治疗药物产生了耐药性。

Jesper Larsen: Historically it has been assumed that resistance in disease-causing bacteria, including Staph aureus, is a modern phenomenon driven by clinical use of antibiotics⁹.

杰斯珀·拉森（JesperLarsen）：历史上，人们一直认为包括金黄色葡萄球菌在内的致病细菌的耐药性是由临床使用抗生素驱动的现代现象。

Hopkin: Jesper Larsen is a senior scientist at the Statens Serum¹⁰ Institute in Copenhagen…

Larsen: …which is the Danish equivalent of the CDC in the US.

霍普金：杰斯珀·拉森是哥本哈根斯塔滕斯血清研究所的资深科学家…

拉森：……这是丹麦的疾病控制中心在美国的等价物。

Hopkin: Methicillin resistance was thought to be tied to prescription¹¹, in part because methicillin-resistant bugs¹² were first isolated¹³ from British hospitals just a year after the drug became available for clinical use.

霍普金：甲氧西林耐药性被认为与处方有关，部分原因是在该药物可用于临床一年后，英国医院首次分离出了抗甲氧西林的细菌。

Larsen: But a couple of years ago we found out by chance that MecC M-R-S-A is present in more than 60 percent of hedgehogs from Denmark and Sweden.

拉森：但几年前，我们偶然发现，丹麦和瑞典60%以上的刺猬体内含有MecC M-R-S-a。

Hopkin: Ok, what’s MecC M-R-S-A? Methicillin and penicillin belong to the so-called “beta lactam” family of antibiotics. They kill bacteria by inhibiting¹⁴ enzymes¹⁵ the bugs use to build their protective cell walls. MecC…and a related gene¹⁶ MecA…encode versions of the enzymes that the antibiotics don’t latch¹⁷ onto as well.

霍普金：好的，什么是MecC M-R-s-A？甲氧西林和青霉素属于所谓的“β-内酰胺”抗生素家族。它们通过抑制细菌用来构建保护细胞壁的酶来杀死细菌。MecC…和一个相关的基因MecA…编码抗生素也不能锁定的酶的版本。

Larsen: Staph aureus bacteria that carry these genes¹⁸ are therefore resistant to most beta lactam antibiotics.

拉森：携带这些基因的金黄色葡萄球菌因此对大多数β-内酰胺类抗生素具有耐药性。

Hopkin: But where did these resistance genes come from? They’ve been spotted¹⁹ not only In folks with Staph infections, but in livestock…like pigs and cattle…and in some wild animals. And in Sweden, Larsen found that mecC is really common in hedgehogs.

霍普金：但是这些抗性基因是从哪里来的呢？不仅在感染葡萄球菌的人群中，而且在家畜中，如猪和牛，以及一些野生动物中也发现了这种细菌。在瑞典，Larsen发现mecC在刺猬中很常见。

Larsen: So the big question was, why hedgehogs carry so much mecC MRSA.

Hopkin: To find out, Larsen went to the library…

拉森：所以最大的问题是，为什么刺猬携带那么多mecC MRSA。

霍普金：为了找到答案，拉森去了图书馆…

Larsen: …where I came across an old study from the 1960s which showed that a particular fungus²⁰ in hedgehogs is able to produce a penicillin-like antibiotic that is very similar to methicillin.

拉森：……我在那里看到了20世纪60年代的一项旧研究，该研究表明刺猬体内的一种特殊真菌能够产生一种类似青霉素的抗生素，这种抗生素与甲氧西林非常相似。

Hopkin: So hedgehogs with this particular skin fungus would naturally be exposed to penicillin. And that could have launched an evolutionary²¹ arms race that drove the hedgehog’s resident bacteria to evolve resistance.

霍普金：所以带有这种特殊皮肤真菌的刺猬自然会接触到青霉素。这可能会引发一场进化军备竞赛，迫使刺猬体内的细菌进化出抵抗力。

Larsen: This was a real eureka moment and led us to hypothesize that wild hedgehogs have been a natural reservoir of mecC MRSA long before penicillin and methicillin came on the market.

拉森：这真是一个大惊小怪的时刻，让我们推测，早在青霉素和甲氧西林上市之前，野生刺猬就已经是mecC MRSA的天然蓄水池。

Hopkin: To confirm this suspicion, Larsen and his colleagues screened hedgehogs from Europe and New Zealand and found that hedgehogs in Scandinavia and the UK harbor a heavy load of mecC MRSA. And they also found that the fungus carried by those hedgehogs had all the genes they needed to produce penicillin.

霍普金：为了证实这一怀疑，拉森和他的同事对来自欧洲和新西兰的刺猬进行了筛选，发现斯堪的纳维亚和英国的刺猬体内含有大量的mecC MRSA。他们还发现，这些刺猬携带的真菌具有产生青霉素所需的所有基因。

Larsen: We then went on and sequenced and analyzed²² the genomes of around one thousand mecC MRSA isolates²³. Which showed that they first appeared in hedgehogs in the early 1800s long before we started to use antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine.

拉森：然后我们继续对大约1000株mecC MRSA菌株的基因组进行测序和分析。这表明，早在我们开始在人类和兽医中使用抗生素之前，它们第一次出现在19世纪早期的刺猬身上。Hopkin: Now, that doesn’t mean that we should feel free to use antibiotics all over the place, because it’s not our fault…it’s the hedgehogs’. Because if having antibiotics around encourages bacteria to evolve resistance, taking antibiotics away robs them of their superpower…and leaves them a little bit weaker than their non-resistant kin².

霍普金：现在，这并不意味着我们应该到处使用抗生素，因为这不是我们的错……这是刺猬的错。因为如果周围有抗生素会鼓励细菌进化出耐药性，那么拿走抗生素会剥夺他们的超级能力……并让他们比没有耐药性的亲属弱一点。

Larsen: It is often very energy consuming to produce the enzymes that inactivate²⁴ the antibiotics. This means that resistant bacteria will often be outcompeted by susceptible²⁵ bacteria in periods when they are not exposed to antibiotics.

拉森：生产使抗生素失活的酶通常非常消耗能量。这意味着，在不接触抗生素的时期，耐药细菌往往会被易感细菌击败。

Hopkin: So if we really want to show MRSA no mercy, we should keep the methicillin to a minimum. And maybe keep at least a quills-length away from Scandinavian hedgehogs.

For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Karen Hopkin.

霍普金：所以，如果我们真的想对耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌毫不留情，我们应该把甲氧西林控制在最低限度。也许还要离斯堪的纳维亚刺猬至少一段距离。

《科学美国人》的《60秒科学》，我是凯伦·霍普金。

1 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

2 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

3 spiky   

adj.长而尖的，大钉似的

参考例句：

• Your hairbrush is too spiky for me.你的发刷，我觉得太尖了。
• The spiky handwriting on the airmail envelope from London was obviously hers.发自伦敦的航空信封上的尖长字迹分明是她的。

4 quills   

n.（刺猬或豪猪的）刺( quill的名词复数 )；羽毛管；翮；纡管

参考例句：

• Quills were the chief writing implement from the 6th century AD until the advent of steel pens in the mid 19th century. 从公元6世纪到19世纪中期钢笔出现以前，羽毛笔是主要的书写工具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defensive quills dot the backs of these troublesome creatures. 防御性的刺长在这些讨人厌的生物背上。 来自互联网

5 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 penicillin   

n.青霉素，盘尼西林

参考例句：

• I should have asked him for a shot of penicillin.我应当让他给我打一针青霉素的。
• Penicillin was an extremely significant medical discovery.青霉素是极其重要的医学发现。

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

9 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

10 serum   

n.浆液，血清，乳浆

参考例句：

• The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
• Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质，共11种，称为补体。

11 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

12 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

14 inhibiting   

抑制作用的，约束的

参考例句：

• The high cost of borrowing is inhibiting investment by industry in new equipment. 借款的高成本抑制了企业对新设备的投资。
• The pesticides affect the nervous system by inhibiting the enzyme cholinesterase. 这类农药抑制胆碱酯酶而影响神经系统。

15 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

16 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

17 latch   

n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁

参考例句：

• She laid her hand on the latch of the door.她把手放在门闩上。
• The repairman installed an iron latch on the door.修理工在门上安了铁门闩。

18 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

19 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

20 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

21 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

22 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 isolates   

v.使隔离( isolate的第三人称单数 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• The transformer isolates the transistors with regard to d-c bias voltage. 变压器可在两个晶体管之间隔离直流偏压。 来自辞典例句
• In regions with certain isolates of TRV, spraining is more prominent. 在具有TRV某些分离物的地区，坏死是比较显著的。 来自辞典例句

24 inactivate   

v.使…不活跃

参考例句：

• We put bacteria in an environment at low temperature to inactivate them.我们将细菌置於低温的环境中使之失去活性。
• Food processing destroys some nutrients,but can also inactivate toxins and increase the availability of other nutrients.食物加工破坏一些营养物质，但也可以灭活毒素，并增加其他营养物质的可用性。

25 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。