Molecular strategies for overcoming antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Overuse of antibiotics in humans and livestock has led to the rapid evoluti on of bacteria that are resistant to multiple drugs such that even vancomyc in, the drug of last resort, is no longer effective against some strains. A part from the discovery and exploitation of the natural peptide antimicrobi al agents that form part of the innate immune systems of plants and animals , there have been few new antibiotics developed in recent years. Here we re view strategies designed to exploit recent advances in molecular biology, i ncluding recombinant DNA technology, molecular modelling and genomics to de velop new antibacterial agents that overcome antibiotic resistance.