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Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance

A heritable or acquired microbial property that reduces susceptibility to an antimicrobial agent.

Overview

EXPLORE BY LEVEL

When a medicine kills or slows most microbes, microbes with resistance traits may survive and leave more descendants. The medicine does not teach an individual microbe to become resistant on purpose.

Quick Facts

AT A GLANCE
TopicMicrobiology & Immunity

Follow the Connections

See how Antimicrobial Resistance links to other biological records.

Open network
ProcessHorizontal Gene transfercan spread byConceptAntibioticselected byTaxonEscherichia colistudied in
All 3 Structured Connections
Antimicrobial Resistance · ProcessCAN SPREAD BY →Horizontal Gene transfer · Process
Antimicrobial Resistance · ProcessSELECTED BY →Antibiotic · Concept
Antimicrobial Resistance · ProcessSTUDIED IN →Escherichia coli · Taxon

Recommended Reading

Trusted references for learning more about Antimicrobial Resistance.

guideOrigins of Antibiotic ResistanceHHMI BioInteractive textbookStructure of Prokaryotes: Bacteria and ArchaeaOpenStax Biology 2e
Research Claims

Resistance phenotypes are drug-, organism-, and assay-specific. Environmental reservoirs can predate clinical use; antimicrobial exposure then changes selection and transmission patterns.