Several years have passed since the first edition of our book, and much has changed in the world of microbiology. The trend of increasing antibiotic resistance has continued with, for example, the emergence of extensively resistant M. tuberculosis. Our understanding of antibiotic resistance biology has increased. Genomic methods have become more accessible allowing antibiotic researchers to probe not only the sequence of antibiotic resistance determinants but also the mechanism whereby they are expressed and regulated. Array methodology has allowed a large number of genes to be studied simultaneously, while real time PCR has allowed detailed dissection of gene expression. We have also begun to understand the importance of biofilms and the physiological state of the organism in permitting organisms to survive in the face of antibiotics and the act of developing resistance.
The molecular revolution has provided the tools that allow us to detect and characterise resistance determinants, and these may be sequence based, nucleic acid amplification methods, or detection of the activity of efflux pumps. The ability of a resistant organism to survive and thrive in the clinical environment is fundamental to the evolution of resistance, and considerable progress has been made in the understanding of the role of fitness in the selection of resistant organisms. This understanding has been aided by an increasing range of physiological characteristics that are tested, and automated methods of testing have improved the reproducibility and robustness of these assays. The need to develop new antibiotic agents means that we have to develop new high throughput methods of evaluating susceptibility. The interaction between bacterial and human populations is an important area of investigation, and we need better techniques to characterise the population genetics of the organisms and better sampling tools to ensure that this data is representative.
The editors have sought to bring together examples of a diverse range of modern techniques applied in antibiotic research, and they hope that you find these useful in planning your own research.
- The Editors -
Contents
Part I Epidemiology and Population Genetics
- 1 The RM Test for Determining Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Lineages
- 2 Unravelling the Ecology of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in the Nasopharynx
Part II Genomics and Gene Expression
- 3 Methods to Determine Antibiotic Resistance Gene Silencing
- 4 Studying Gene Induction of Glycopeptide Resistance Using Gene Swapping
- 5 Real-Time PCR Methods to Study Expression of Genes Related to Hypermutability
- 6 Use of DNA Arrays to Study Transcriptional Responses to Antimycobacterial Compounds
Part III Fitness Mutation and Physiology
- 7 Assays of Sensitivity of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria to Hydrogen Peroxide and Measurement of Catalase Activity
- 8 Measurements of Heme Levels and Respiration Rate in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium
- 9 Methods to Determine Fitness in Bacteria
- 10 Application of Continuous Culture for Measuring the Effect of Environmental Stress on Mutation Frequency in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Part IV Detection of Resistance
- 11 Identification of Efflux-Mediated Multi-drug Resistance in Bacterial Clinical Isolates by Two Simple Methods
- 12 Evaluation of Efflux Activity of Bacteria by a Semi-automated Fluorometric System
- 13 Measuring the Activity of Active Efflux in Gram-Negative Bacteria
- 14 Rapid Characterization of b-Lactamases by Multiplex PCR
- 15 Rapid Methods for Testing Inhibitors of Mycobacterial Growth
- 16 Use of Biofilm Model Systems to Study Antimicrobial Susceptibility
- 17 Rapid Analysis of Resistant Mutant Genotypes Using Pyrosequencing®
Index
About the Editors
- Stephen H. Gillespie, MD, UCL Medical School, London, UK. Email: sgillesp@medsch.ucl.ac.uk
- Timothy D. McHugh, Ph.D, UCL Medical School, London, UK. Email: t.mchugh@medsch.ucl.ac.uk
Product Details
- Hardcover: 248 pages
- Publisher: Humana Press; 2nd ed. edition (April 16, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 160327278X
- ISBN-13: 978-1603272780
- Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
List Price: $119.00