Antibiotics, antibiotic resistance and the human microbiome Willem van Schaik Dept. of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands [email protected] twitter.com/WvSchaik Earth forms 5 x 1030 bacteria on Earth 1 billion Whitmanet al., 1998. PNAS 95:6578 years First life O in atmosphere 2 First multi-cellular organisms First fungi Plants, insects Dinosaurs Humans Earth forms 1 billion years First life O in atmosphere 2 First multi-cellular organisms First fungi Plants, insects Dinosaurs Humans Huget al., 2016. Nature Microbiol. 1:16048 The natural role of antibiotics Fungi kill bacteria in vitro Fungi + Salmonella enterica Typhi: mice survive Ernst Duchesne: 1874-1912 Discovery of antibiotics Penicillium Sir Alexander Fleming (1881 – 1955) Staphylococcus aureus Not successful in purifying active substance 6 Discovery of antibiotics http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/penicillin-acting-bacteria Collateral damage of antibiotic use? Prof. Martin J. Blaser New York Medical Center