Microbiology - Lecture Thirty Three : Antibiotics
3 important questions on Microbiology - Lecture Thirty Three : Antibiotics
What are the mechanisms of Antibiotics Resistance?
- The ability of a microbe to resist the effects of the drug that once could effectively treat it. ‘Superbugs’ are describing microbes that are resistant to multiple types/classes of drugs.
- Resistance arise from mutations in the microbe genome
- Environmentally induced mutations (UV light, Radiation, chemicals)
- These mutant microbes could have an altered target site, which the drug will no longer be effective against. Thus they are selected for in the population under the use of the medication. They can survive and continue to proliferate, passing on this mutant trait and cause disease
What are the two ways of passing on the antibiotics resistant ?
Spreading of resistance amongst microbial populations
- It survives and multiplies by binary fission, passing on the mutant gene to daughter cells
- Progenies of the mutant are also resistant to the antibiotic
1) Transformation
2) Transduction
3) Conjugation
- Vertical gene transfer
- It survives and multiplies by binary fission, passing on the mutant gene to daughter cells
- Progenies of the mutant are also resistant to the antibiotic
- Horizontal gene transfer
1) Transformation
2) Transduction
3) Conjugation
What are some methods to reduce spread of antibiotic resistance ?
- Decrease antibiotic use by reducing outbreaks (target source of problem)
- Improve infrastructure and hygiene (waste management)
- Improve diagnosis
- Identify the resistance already present, avoid using ineffective drugs
- Identify new targets
- Combination therapies (antiviral)
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