Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria

Antibiotic resistance arises when bacteria evolve or acquire mechanisms that neutralize the drugs designed to kill them, and understanding those mechanisms at the molecular level has become one of the most urgent problems in medicine. Researchers focus on how resistance genes spread between bacterial strains—often carried on mobile genetic elements called plasmids—and how proteins such as carbapenemases destroy last-resort antibiotics, while efflux pumps actively expel drugs before they can act. A particular concern is the ESKAPE group of pathogens, which includes species like *Acinetobacter baumannii* that combine multiple resistance strategies and are responsible for a disproportionate share of difficult-to-treat hospital infections. Central open questions include how to disrupt resistance gene transfer in clinical settings and whether targeting the resistance machinery itself—rather than the bacteria directly—can restore the effectiveness of existing drugs.

Works

143,722

Total citations

3,053,736

Keywords

Antibiotic ResistanceMultidrug-Resistant BacteriaESKAPE PathogensCarbapenemasesPlasmid-Mediated ResistanceEfflux Pumps