Fundamentals of Bacterial Quorum Sensing and Antimicrobial Resistance

Any substance derived naturally or synthetically that can kill, destroy, or inhibit the growth of microbes is defined as an antimicrobial agent. Antimicrobial resistance is the condition wherein the microbes develop resistance toward the drug. The microbes can show resistance toward the drug in various processes such as inactivating the drug, preventing the uptake of the drug by going through certain modifications in its cell wall, and developing a special membrane pump to drive out the antimicrobial agents. Most antimicrobial agents tend to impede cell wall synthesis and inhibit the metabolic pathway and synthesis of protein and nucleic acids. The capability of the microbes to resist the antimicrobial agents is either acquired naturally or from other microbes. Furthermore, various anthropogenic factors affect antimicrobial resistance, such as overusage of common antibiotics and broad-spectrum drugs. Overdosage of the antimicrobial agent can increase the patient’s risk of getting infected by a pathogen that shows resistance to the drug.