La résistance bactérienne aux antibiotiques, un modèle exemplaire d'évolution moléculaire dirigée

in Verhandelingen - Koninklijke Academie voor Geneeskunde van Belgie (1998), 60(4), 287-294

The simplest conceivable event that can occur at the gene level can result in the development of efficacious resistance tot antibiotics. The bacterial world behaves as an enormous organism whose cells can ... [more ▼]

The simplest conceivable event that can occur at the gene level can result in the development of efficacious resistance tot antibiotics. The bacterial world behaves as an enormous organism whose cells can exchange their genes very easily. Accordingly, oppotunities for the exhcange of genetic material in nature are probably unlimited. This knowledge cannot be ignored. It leads to the important conclusion that the antibiotics are societal drugs. A resistance gene which has appeared somewhere in the world can travel far and fast. [less ▲]