Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance

Abstract

Emergence of increasing numbers of antibiotic-resistant pathogens in human medicine has raised concerns about antibiotic use in veterinary medicine. Bacteria have numerous mechanisms for exchange of genetic information, which allows acquired resistance to expand rapidly throughout a population. Mechanisms that confer antibiotic resistance to bacteria include exclusion of the drug from the internal environment, inactivation of the compound, or alteration of target proteins. Inappropriate antibiotic use serves only to enhance selection pressure for development of resistant bacterial strains.