Emergence of transferable daptomycin resistance in Gram-positive bacteria

Daptomycin (DAP) is a last-resort antibiotic used to treat infections by multiresistant Gram-positive pathogens like MRSA and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. A new acquired DAP-R determinant, drc, was detected in a livestock-associated Mammaliicoccus sciuri isolate. This drc locus is functional in various bacterial backgrounds, including MRSA, suggesting a risk of transmission into pathogens.