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...

OBJECTIVE To clarify the effects of antibiotic exposure on bacterial antibiotic resistance. MATERIALS AND METHODS A competitive population dynamics model for plasmid-bearing organisms and plasmid-free organisms in the host was established. The Poincaré-Bendixson theorem was used for analysis. RESULTS All possible results of the competition dependent on biologically meaningful parameters wer...

The optimisation of antibiotic use to maximise patient care and safety through antibiotic stewardship forms one of the cornerstones of the global response to antibiotic resistance. Stewardship efforts in low- and middle-income countries are challenged by lack of healthcare professionals trained in infection. Therefore, in resource-poor settings, the traditional model of infection specialist-led...

Controlling antibiotic-resistant (ART) bacteria in cheese fermentation is important for food safety and public health. A plant-maintained culture was found to be a potential source for ART bacterial contamination in cheese fermentation. Antibiotics had a detectable effect on the ART population from contamination in the finished product. The decrease in the prevalence of antibiotic resistance (A...

The problem of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is a problem in genetic ecology. For the past half century, microbes have been exposed to enormous quantities of toxic agents (antibiotics) and they have survived. The principal survival strategy employed was the functional acquisition and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes. It is apparent that the genetic mechanisms in...

The ways we have developed, used, and protected antibiotics have led, predictably, to our current crisis of rising antibiotic resistance and declining new treatments. If we want to stave off a postantibiotic era, we need to fundamentally change our approach. We need to challenge long-standing assumptions and cherished beliefs. We need to push through the reflexive resistance and excuses (eg, "t...

Hospital-acquired infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a grave and growing threat to public health. Antimicrobial cycling, in which two or more antibiotic classes are alternated on a time scale of months to years, seems to be a leading candidate in the search for treatment strategies that can slow the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance in hospitals. We develop a ma...