Significance of efflux pumps in multidrug resistance and pathogenesis of Acinetobacter spp.

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Hospital-acquired infections caused by Acinetobacter spp. are a serious problem especially in the burns and intensive care units because of the rapid increase in Acinetobacter spp. that have become resistant to multiple antibiotics. In this project, we will perform experiments that will allow us to understand how multi-resistance to antibiotics is caused. We will focus on broad substrate-specificity efflux pumps that actively export the drugs, thus rendering them less effective. We want to know the contribution of increased efflux pump activities in the development of multi-drug resistance in Acinetobacter spp. in the clinical environment. We anticipate that we will discover physiological substrates of these pumps and the biochemical pathways that produce them. This could lead to the discovery of novel antimicrobials and inhibitors of the broad-spectrum efflux pumps.