This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wexler, H. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Wexler, H. M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, October 2007, p. 593-621, Vol. 20, No. 4
0893-8512/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CMR.00008-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Bacteroides: the Good, the Bad, and the Nitty-Gritty

Hannah M. Wexler*

Wadsworth Anaerobe Laboratory, Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare Systems, and Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California

Summary: Bacteroides species are significant clinical pathogens and are found in most anaerobic infections, with an associated mortality of more than 19%. The bacteria maintain a complex and generally beneficial relationship with the host when retained in the gut, but when they escape this environment they can cause significant pathology, including bacteremia and abscess formation in multiple body sites. Genomic and proteomic analyses have vastly added to our understanding of the manner in which Bacteroides species adapt to, and thrive in, the human gut. A few examples are (i) complex systems to sense and adapt to nutrient availability, (ii) multiple pump systems to expel toxic substances, and (iii) the ability to influence the host immune system so that it controls other (competing) pathogens. B. fragilis, which accounts for only 0.5% of the human colonic flora, is the most commonly isolated anaerobic pathogen due, in part, to its potent virulence factors. Species of the genus Bacteroides have the most antibiotic resistance mechanisms and the highest resistance rates of all anaerobic pathogens. Clinically, Bacteroides species have exhibited increasing resistance to many antibiotics, including cefoxitin, clindamycin, metronidazole, carbapenems, and fluoroquinolones (e.g., gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin).

* Mailing address: Wadsworth Anaerobe Laboratory, GLAVAHCS 691/151J, 11301 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90073. Phone: (310) 268-3404. Fax: (310) 268-4458. E-mail: hwexler{at}ucla.edu

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, October 2007, p. 593-621, Vol. 20, No. 4
0893-8512/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CMR.00008-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Patel, E. H., Paul, L. V., Casanueva, A. I., Patrick, S., Abratt, V. R. (2009). Overexpression of the rhamnose catabolism regulatory protein, RhaR: a novel mechanism for metronidazole resistance in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. J Antimicrob Chemother 0: dkp203v1-dkp203 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mazumdar, V., Snitkin, E. S., Amar, S., Segre, D. (2009). Metabolic Network Model of a Human Oral Pathogen. J. Bacteriol. 191: 74-90 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»