2019/03/14 by Alison J. Baylay, Laura J. V. Piddock, Mark Webber · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · #Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria #Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts #Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
paper · doi:10.1002/9781119593522.ch1
openalex publication_date 2019/03/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
This chapter provides an overview of the molecular mechanisms by which bacteria can survive exposure to some of the most clinically important antibiotics currently available. Efflux pumps are ancestrally ancient proteins and their original function is often unknown, but some are known to export naturally occurring molecules that are toxic to the cell. The intracellular concentration of an antibiotic can be reduced by preventing its entry into the cell. Antibiotic resistance mediated by degradation or inactivation of an antibiotic before it reaches its target is achieved by either hydrolysis of a key structural feature of the antibiotic, or modification of the antibiotic structure by transfer of a chemical group. Transferrable resistance genes that cause acquired resistance in normally susceptible bacteria can often be traced back to the capture of chromosomal genes from a species with intrinsic drug resistance by a mobile genetic element.