The discovery of antibiotics more than 80 years ago has led to considerable improvements in human and animal health. Although antibiotic resistance in environmental bacteria is ancient, resistance in human pathogens is thought to be a modern phenomenon that is driven by the clinical use of antibiotics¹. Here we show that particular lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—a notorious human pathogen—appeared in European hedgehogs in the pre-antibiotic era. Subsequently, these lineages spread within the local hedgehog populations and between hedgehogs and secondary hosts, including livestock and humans. We also demonstrate that the hedgehog dermatophyte Trichophyton erinacei produces two β-lactam antibiotics that provide a natural selective environment in which methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates have an advantage over susceptible isolates. Together, these results suggest that methicillin resistance emerged in the pre-antibiotic era as a co-evolutionary adaptation of S. aureus to the colonization of dermatophyte-infected hedgehogs. The evolution of clinically relevant antibiotic-resistance genes in wild animals and the connectivity of natural, agricultural and human ecosystems demonstrate that the use of a One Health approach is critical for our understanding and management of antibiotic resistance, which is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development.

Recent significant progress in culture-independent techniques, together with the parallel development of -omics technologies and data analysis capabilities, have led to a new perception of the milk microbiota as a complex microbial community with great diversity and multifaceted biological roles, living in an environment that was until recently believed to be sterile. In this review, we summarize and discuss the latest findings on the milk microbiota in dairy cows, with a focus on the role it plays in bovine physiology and health. Following an introduction on microbial communities and the importance of their study, we present an overview of the -omics methods currently available for their characterization, and outline the potential offered by a systems biology approach encompassing metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, and metametabolomics. Then, we review the recent discoveries on the dairy cow milk microbiome enabled by the application of -omics approaches. Learning from studies in humans and in the mouse model, and after a description of the endogenous route hypothesis, we discuss the role of the milk microbiota in the physiology and health of both the mother and the offspring, and report how it can be changed by farming practices and during infection. In conclusion, we shortly outline the impact of the milk microbiota on the quality of milk and of dairy products.

Efficient control against bovine mastitis requires sensitive, rapid, and specific tests to detect and identify the main bacteria that cause heavy losses to the dairy industry. Molecular detection of pathogenic microorganisms is based on DNA amplification of the target pathogen. Therefore, efficient extraction of DNA from pathogenic bacteria is a major step. In this study, we aimed to develop a specific, sensitive, and rapid method to extract DNA directly from the main gram-positive bacteria known to cause bovine mastitis (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, and Streptococcus uberis) found in milk samples. The DNA extraction method is based on the lysing and nuclease-inactivating properties of the chaotropic agent, guanidinium thiocyanate, together with the nucleic acid-binding properties of the silica particles. An efficient protocol consisting of 6 basic steps (3 of which were done twice) was developed and applied directly to milk samples. Absence of PCR inhibitors and DNA quality were evaluated by PCR amplification of the species-specific DNA sequences of the target bacteria. The level of sensitivity achieved in our experiments is applicable to milk sample analysis without sample enrichment.

Staphylococcus aureus is recognized worldwide as one of the major agents of dairy cow intra-mammary infections. This microorganism can express a wide spectrum of pathogenic factors used to attach, colonize, invade and infect the host. The present study evaluated 120 isolates from eight different countries that were genotyped by RS-PCR and investigated for 26 different virulence factors to increase the knowledge on the circulating genetic lineages among the cow population with mastitis. New genotypes were observed for South African strains while for all the other countries new variants of existing genotypes were detected. For each country, a specific genotypic pattern was found. Among the virulence factors, fmtB, cna, clfA and leucocidins genes were the most frequent. The sea and sei genes were present in seven out of eight countries; seh showed high frequency in South American countries (Brazil, Colombia, Argentina), while sel was harboured especially in one Mediterranean country (Tunisia). The etb, seb and see genes were not detected in any of the isolates, while only two isolates were MRSA (Germany and Italy) confirming the low diffusion of methicillin resistance microorganism among bovine mastitis isolates. This work demonstrated the wide variety of S. aureus genotypes found in dairy cattle worldwide. This condition suggests that considering the region of interest might help to formulate strategies for reducing the infection spreading.