研究发现，一种可抵御抗生素、属于耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）的超级细菌，是野生刺猬皮肤上的真菌和细菌相互斗争而自然进化出来的。

 

Having discovered this strain of MRSA in dairy cattle a decade ago, scientists from the University of Cambridge wanted to know where it came from, and whether the use of antibiotics² on farms had caused it to emerge.

十年前，剑桥大学的科学家在乳牛中发现了耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）的这支菌株，他们想了解它来自何处，以及在农场使用抗生素是否导致了它的出现。

 

So, a team of biologists across Europe collected and examined more than a thousand samples of the bacteria taken from wild animals. Their painstaking³ genetic⁴ investigation⁵ revealed that the strain evolved on hedgehog skin more than 200 years ago in an evolutionary⁶ arms race with a common skin fungus⁷ that releases a natural antibiotic¹.

因此，来自欧洲各地的一个生物学家团队收集并检查了从野生动物身上采集的一千多个样本。经过潜心研究，他们的基因调查显示，200多年前，这支菌株是在与一种释放天然抗生素的普通皮肤真菌争相进化时，在刺猬的皮肤上演生出来的。

 

But the researchers stress that while it's crucial to understand the sources of antibiotic resistance in nature, our own overuse of antibiotics is the main driver of resistance in harmful bacteria.

但研究人员强调，虽然了解自然界抗生素耐药性的来源至关重要，但人类自身对抗生素的滥用才是有害细菌产生耐药性的主要驱动因素。

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