The Kolumbo (Santorini) submarine volcanic ecosystem, a natural biotechnology resource in Greece, features a ‘hidden pearl’ locality of added value to global biomedical research. A working geobiology  research group from the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, and the  National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has found new clues in  understanding antibiotic resistance selection of multidrug resistant bacteria.
The research has been published in Scientific Reports-Nature [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79359-y]. Pangenome  analysis has revealed that all identified Gene Clusters of Pseudomonas  strains, isolated from the active Kolumbo crater hydrothermal vents, were associated with antimicrobial and multidrug resistance. The study provides
strong evidence that the CO2-rich, acidic volcano crater bottom-seawater, might be a reservoir of microorganisms carrying  multidrug efflux-mediated systems and pumps. Extreme metal(loid)  enrichment (e.g. Sb, Tl, Ag, As, Hg, Pb, Hg) may have provided  selective pressure for the maintenance of resistance mechanisms, under the extreme environmental conditions prevalent on the Kolumbo  hydrothermal vents.
The study shows that these genetic characteristics existed long before the advent of antibiotics as human medicines, and underpins the importance of further study of extreme environments (or ecosystems) and their associated physicochemical parameters in the rise of antibiotic resistance.