Arthropod resistant crops reduce pesticide pollution, alleviate hunger and improve human nutrition. Plant Resistance to Arthropods - Molecular and Conventional Approaches synthesizes new information ...about the environmental advantages of plant resistance, transgenic resistance, the molecular bases of resistance, and the use of molecular markers to map resistance genes. Readers are presented in-depth descriptions of techniques to quantify resistance, factors affecting resistance expression, and the deployment of resistance genes. New information about gene-for-gene interactions between resistant plants and arthropod biotypes is discussed along with the recent examples of using arthropod resistant plants in integrated pest management systems.
Alternative treatment modes for antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens have become a public health priority. Bacteriophages are bacterial viruses that infect and lyse bacterial cells. Since ...bacteriophages are frequently bacterial host species-specific and can often also infect antibiotic-resistant bacterial cells, they could represent ideal antimicrobials for fighting the antibiotic resistance crisis. The medical use of bacteriophages has become known as phage therapy. It is widely used in Russia, where phage cocktails are sold in pharmacies as an over-the-counter drug. However, no phage product has been registered for medical purposes outside of the former Soviet Union. The current Special Issue of Viruses contains a collection of papers from opinion leaders in the field who explore hurdles to the introduction of phage therapy in western countries. The articles cover diverse topics ranging from patent to regulatory issues, the targeting of suitable bacterial infections, and the selection and characterization of safe and efficient phage cocktails. Phage resistance is discussed, and gaps in our knowledge of phage–bacterium interactions in the mammalian body are revealed, while other articles explore the use of phages in food production and processing.
Antibiotic resistance is recognised as a major global threat to public health by the World Health Organization. Currently, several hundred thousand deaths yearly can be attributed to infections with ...antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The major driver for the development of antibiotic resistance is considered to be the use, misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals. Nonantibiotic compounds, such as antibacterial biocides and metals, may also contribute to the promotion of antibiotic resistance through co-selection. This may occur when resistance genes to both antibiotics and metals/biocides are co-located together in the same cell (co-resistance), or a single resistance mechanism (e.g. an efflux pump) confers resistance to both antibiotics and biocides/metals (cross-resistance), leading to co-selection of bacterial strains, or mobile genetic elements that they carry. Here, we review antimicrobial metal resistance in the context of the antibiotic resistance problem, discuss co-selection, and highlight critical knowledge gaps in our understanding.
Today, there is considerable literature regarding the subject of antimicrobial resistance. However, most of this information is based on information from developed countries. Very little organized ...information is available about the subject that critically examines the problem in developing countries. Scattered literature is available in various forms in journals that are often not easily accessible to the affected developing countries. The objective of the book is to put together data and information about the problem of antimicrobial resistance in developing countries addressing the general global perspectives, the risk factors, the current rates, trends, and possibilities for containment as they relate to specific conditions in those developing countries.
Antibiotic resistance is a great concern, which leads to global public health risks and ecological and environmental risks. The presence of antibiotic-resistant genes and antibiotic-resistant ...bacteria in the environment exacerbates the risk of spreading antibiotic resistance. Among them, horizontal gene transfer is an important mode in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes, and it is one of the reasons that the antibiotic resistance pollution has become increasingly serious. At the same time, free antibiotic resistance genes and resistance gene host bacterial also exist in the natural environment. They can not only affect horizontal gene transfer, but can also migrate and aggregate among environmental media in many ways and then continue to affect the proliferate and transfer of antibiotic resistance genes. All this shows the seriousness of antibiotic resistance pollution. Therefore, in this review, we reveal the sensitive factors affecting the distribution and spread of antibiotic resistance through three aspects: the influencing factors of horizontal gene transfer, the host bacteria of resistance genes and the migration of antibiotic resistance between environmental media. This review reveals the huge role of environmental migration in the spread of antibiotic resistance, and the environmental behavior of antibiotic resistance deserves wider attention. Meanwhile, extracellular antibiotic resistance genes and intracellular antibiotic resistance genes play different roles, so they should be studied separately.
In The Antibiotic Era, physician-historian Scott H. Podolsky narrates the far-reaching history of antibiotics, focusing particularly on reform efforts that attempted to fundamentally change how ...antibiotics are developed and prescribed. This sweeping chronicle reveals the struggles faced by crusading reformers from the 1940s onward as they advocated for a rational therapeutics at the crowded intersection of bugs and drugs, patients and doctors, industry and medical academia, and government and the media.
During the post–World War II “wonder drug” revolution, antibiotics were viewed as a panacea for mastering infectious disease. But from the beginning, critics raised concerns about irrational usage and overprescription. The first generation of antibiotic reformers focused on regulating the drug industry. The reforms they set in motion included the adoption of controlled clinical trials as the ultimate arbiters of therapeutic efficacy, the passage of the Kefauver-Harris amendments mandating proof of drug efficacy via well-controlled studies, and the empowering of the Food and Drug Administration to remove inefficacious drugs from the market. Despite such victories, no entity was empowered to rein in physicians who inappropriately prescribed, or overly prescribed, approved drugs.
Now, in an era of emerging bugs and receding drugs, discussions of antibiotic resistance focus on the need to develop novel antibiotics and the need for more appropriate prescription practices in the face of pharmaceutical marketing, pressure from patients, and the structural constraints that impede rational delivery of antibiotics worldwide. Concerns about the enduring utility of antibiotics—indeed, about a post-antibiotic era—are widespread, as evidenced by reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, academia, and popular media alike. Only by understanding the historical forces that have shaped our current situation, Podolsky argues, can we properly understand and frame our choices moving forward.
The global spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogenic bacteria is a continuing challenge to the health care of humans and domesticated animals. With no new agents on the horizon, it is imperative ...to use antimicrobial agents wisely to preserve their future efficacy.Led by Editors Stefan Schwarz, Lina Maria Cavaco, and Jianzhong Shen with Frank Møller Aarestrup, an international team of experts in antimicrobial resistance of livestock and companion animals has created this valuable reference for veterinary students and practitioners as well as researchers and decision makers interested in understanding and preventing antimicrobial resistance.