Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for a large proportion of antimicrobial-resistant infections in humans and animals. Among this class of bacteria are also some of the most successful environmental organisms. Part of this success is their adaptability to a variety of different niches, their intrinsic resistance to antimicrobial drugs and their ability to rapidly acquire resistance mechanisms. These mechanisms of resistance are not exclusive and the interplay of several mechanisms causes high levels of resistance. In this review, we explore the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance in Gram-negative organisms and how these different mechanisms enable them to survive many different stress conditions.
Keywords: Gram-negative; acquired resistance; adaptive resistance; antimicrobial resistance; intrinsic resistance; mechanisms of resistance.
© 2017 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.