A resistance gene contains the information for the production of a protein that makes an antibiotic ineffective and hence confers resistance against an antibiotic to a pathogen.
Detailed description
Resistance genes are usually found on a ring-shaped piece of DNA, the plasmid. Like this, they can easily be passed on from one bacterium to another. Plants can possess resistance genes as well. They are usually directed against herbicides and pests.
Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the University of Giessen have shown that the gene for resistance to colistin, which was recently discovered in China, also exists
Scientists from the Research Center Borstel, the German Center for Infection Research, the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases have
According to figures of the World Health Organization, some 8.7 million people contracted tuberculosis in 2012 and this disease is fatal for approximately 1.3 million people throughout the world each
30 years after HIV was discovered to be the cause of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome AIDS, and despite intensive research, no vaccine or cure has yet been found. An international team of
An international group of scientists unraveled for the first time the global spread of multidrug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains. The study shows that efficient tuberculosis
An international team of researchers has discovered an antibiotic compound which is effective against a broad spectrum of pathogens. First tests have shown that it does not generate resistance. A
Researchers from the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have confirmed the spread of a “multidrug-resistant plasmid” in a hospital. This plasmid is a mobile genetic element which can transfer
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing concern: Hospitals are increasingly being confronted with bacterial infections for which there is no cure. The frequent use of broad spectrum antibiotics, which
