Fosm, A New Family Of Fosfomycin Resistance Genes Identified In Bacterial Species Isolated From Human Microbiota

Fosfomycin is a decades-old antibiotic, currently reused because of its activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Here, we used a combined in vitro/in silico approach to search for fosfomycin resistance determinants in 25 new bacterial species isolated from the human microbiota. Putative resistance genes were cloned into a susceptible Escherichia coli strain. MIC values increased from 1 mu g/ml to 1,024 mu g/ml. Here, we report a new family of potential chromosomal fosfomycin resistance genes, named fosM.