The study of bacterial genetics has provided much of the conceptual foundation for understanding the structure, function, and expression of genes. The detailed knowledge of genetic mechanisms in bacteria has also resulted in immensely powerful and sophisticated tools for studying the molecular biology of a wide variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Because many of these tools make it...

New antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action are urgently needed to overcome the growing bacterial resistance problem faced by clinicians today. PC190723 and related compounds represent a promising new class of antibacterial compounds that target the essential bacterial cell division protein FtsZ. While this family of compounds exhibits potent antistaphylococcal activity, they have poor acti...

With the number of infections caused by bacteria that are multidrug resistant (MDR) increasing, it is imperative that these infections can be controlled. Biocides are used to prevent contamination in a variety of topical and hard-surface applications and are an essential component of infection control in hospitals. They are also used for disinfection and preservation of foodstuffs and within th...

Spread of antibiotic resistance is mediated by clonal lineages of bacteria that besides being resistant also possess other properties promoting their success. Some vaccines already in use, such as the pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, have had an effect on these successful clones, but at the same time have allowed for the expansion and resistance evolution of previously minor clones not covered ...

How does resistance arise in bacteria ? One process is simply selection; treatment with an antibiotic eliminates sensitive strains and enables an originally very small minority of resistant ones to survive and spread. This is undoubtedly what happened among staphylococci in the early days of penicillin. When exposure to a drug-antibiotic or synthetic-is followed by resistance in a previously se...