20 - Antibiotic Resistance and Genetics Flashcards
4 main bacterial antibiotic resistance mechanisms
- Altered antibiotic target
- Inactivate antibiotic (Degrading the antibiotic or Chemically modify antibiotic)
- Reduced antibiotic accumulation
- alternate pathway to bypass the inhibited one
Altering the target of the antibiotic
- Target protection
- Target modification
- Insensitive functional target
Target protection
Resistance protein blocks access of antibiotic target
Target modification
Resistance enzyme modifies antibiotic target
Vancomycin resistance
arises when bacteria change the terminal D-ala in the pentapeptide of peptidoglycan into D-serine or D-Lac, so vancomycin cannot bind
Insensitive functional target
Resistance protein is an alternative enzyme that is insensitive to antibiotic
Antibiotic degradation
Hydrolysis of the β-lactam ring of penicillins and cephalosporins by penicillinase (β-lactamase) enzymes
Chemically altering antibiotic
Acetyltransferase adds an acetyl group to aminoglycosides or
chloramphenicol, inactivating them
Reduced antibiotic accumulation
Antibiotic efflux
Antibiotic efflux
- Rapid extrusion of antibiotic via efflux pump
- Extrusion is energy dependent
- Bacteria can also reduce uptake
Target bypass
Enterococci are intrinsically resistant to sulphonamides because they are able to use pre-formed folic acid from their environment (unlike other bacteria)
Vertical gene transfer
Transfer of genes from parent to progeny
Horizontal gene transfer
- Transfer of genes from one independent, mature organism to another
- Important in bacterial evolution, including the gain of antibiotic-resistance genes
Four possible fates of HGT donor DNA in the recipient cell
- Integration via recombination with recipient’s genome
- Self-replication of the donor DNA (if plasmid)
- No replication and eventual loss of donor DNA
- Degradation of donor DNA
Mobile genetic elements
DNA segments that can move to different locations on genomes and/or move from cell to cell.