How do bacterial membranes resist polymyxin antibiotics?
Adree Khondker, Maikel C. Rheinstädter
Abstract
In our recent Communications Biology article, we reported on the biophysical mechanism of resistance for polymyxin antibiotics in bacterial membranes. The emergence of plasmid-borne colistin resistance poses a threat to our last line of defense against many pathogens. Here, we outline the current understanding of mcr-1-mediated polymyxin resistance, and propose future directions for membrane-targeting antibiotic research. Adree Khondker and Maikel Rheinstadter discuss how bacteria escape being killed by polymyxin antibiotics. Touching on their recent Communications Biology paper, they elaborate on the mechanism by which the bacterial membrane becomes resistant and on future directions to take in order to understand this phenomenon.