Antimicrobial Resistance

Dr. Sunil D. Saroj (Associate Professor, Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International (Deemed University), India) During my Ph.D. in Microbiology from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India, I was exposed to the fascinating life of microbes. Bacterial pathogens have efficient mechanisms to overcome the stress that could affect their growth and survival. The stress factors include both growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting molecules. The biggest challenge the bacterial pathogens must face is from antimicrobials, bacteriophages, and the host immune system. In nature, these bacterial pathogens are present in close association with other bacteria and their hosts. To overcome these challenges and preserve their existence, the bacteria have developed communication systems, wherein they share chemical and genetic information with the other bacteria. The role of these interspecies communications in virulence and antimicrobial resistance was pursued further during my post-doctoral experience at the Chiba University (Japan), Emory University (USA), and Stockholm University (Sweden). I understand that the issue of antimicrobial resistance could not be resolved by just discovery of novel antibiotics; additional novel intervention strategies are required.