Multiple Bacterial Strategies to Survive Antibiotic Pressure: A Review

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens is recognized as a major threat to human health worldwide. The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria can also be found in the community settings, apart from hospital environment, which indicates that reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes do exist outside the hospital. The growth of antibiotic resistance is a consequence of bacterial adaptations in response to selective pressures. To survive in this hostile environment, bacteria develop defence mechanisms such as chemical modification of antibiotics, enzyme-catalysed antibiotic degradation, altered permeability, antibiotic efflux, mutation of target sites and biofilm formation, resulting in resistance to nearly all currently available antibiotics used in the clinical practice. The present review summarizes insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the antibiotic resistance which is useful for planning strategies to combat antibiotic resistance and devise innovative therapeutic tools to fight against multidrug-resistant bacterial species.

A Preliminary Study of Antibiofilm Activity of Ethyl Acetate Extracts of Actinomycetes Isolated from Bris Soil, Terengganu against <em>Salmonella typhimurium</em>

“…They stated that biofilm formation is frequently triggered by many adverse environmental factors such alterations in pH, oxygen levels, temperature, and nutrient supply. Biofilms provide protection against external stressors such the host immune system, harmful chemicals, and antibiotics (Yuyama et al, 2020;Zakaria et al 2023). Chronic infections induced by bacteria organised in a biofilm are difficult to cure because they have a high tolerance to antibiotic concentrations.…”