Gray C P [a]. Keck W.
Bacterial targets and antibiotics: Genome-based drug
discovery, Cellular & Molecular Life Sciences 56(9-10) :779-787, 1999.
Abstract
The requirement for novel classes of antibiotics to combat the emergence of
resistant and multi-resistant bacteria has coincided with the completion
sequencing of a number of bacterial genomes. The in silico
analysis of these genomes coupled with innovative genetic manipulation has
already led to the identification of conserved essential (either in vitro or
in vivo, depending on the methodology) genes that are potential targets for
antibacterial research. New technologies, made possible by access to the
genomic sequences, are capable of simultaneously quantifying almost the
entire complement of gene products synthesised by bacterial cells. These
technologies are opening up the way for the analysis of expression patterns
elicited in cells in response to changes in their environment. The
integration of these technologies into the drug
discovery process is still in its infancy and the potential
wealth of information, some of it already available, has yet to be fully
realised.
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