J. Nat. Prod., ASAP Article, 10.1021/np078017j

The results demonstrate that antibiotic resistance genes are not merely protective shields and offer a more comprehensive view of the role of antibiotic resistance genes in the clinic and in nature. PLoS ONE 3(2): e1619. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001619

The treatment of bacterial infections is increasingly complicated because microorganisms can develop resistance to antimicrobial agents. This article discusses the information that is required to predict when antibiotic resistance is likely to emerge in a bacterial population. Indeed, the development of the conceptual and methodological tools required for this type of prediction represents an important goal for microbiological research. To this end, we propose the establishment of methodological guidelines that will allow researchers to predict the emergence of resistance to a new antibiotic before its clinical introduction.

A DNA-based therapy could slash the development time of new drugs to combat antibiotic resistant superbugs. Scientists from the John Innes Centre have proven that by taking a short stretch of DNA from a bacterium and delivering it with an existing antibiotic they can switch off antibiotic resistance. Together with technology transfer company PBL, the scientists have launched a spin-out company, Procarta Biosystems Ltd, to develop the technology.

British scientists have developed a genetic weapon to attack antibiotic resistant bacteria. They say it could defeat “superbugs” such as MRSA, which pose a growing threat to public health. The new approach comes from the John Innes Centre in Norwich, which is best known for plant science but is also strong in microbiology. A spin-out company, Procarta Biosystems, has been set up to commercialise the technology.

The post here the other day on resistant bacterial infections prompted some readers to wonder why the drug industry isn’t doing more to come up with compounds in this field.

The routine use of antibiotics in swine production can have unintended consequences, with antibiotic resistance genes sometimes leaking from waste lagoons into groundwater. In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois report that some genes found in hog waste lagoons are transferred "like batons" from one bacterial species to another. The researchers found that this migration across species and into new environments sometimes dilutes and sometimes amplifies genes conferring antibiotic resistance. See original article at Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2007, p. 4813-4823, Vol. 73, No. 15.