Abstract

The alarming increase and spread of resistance among emerging and re-emerging bacterial pathogens to all clinically useful antibiotics is one of the most serious public health problems of the last decade. Thus, the search for new antibacterials directed toward new targets is not only a continuous process but also, at this time, an urgent necessity. Recent advances in molecular biological technologies have significantly increased the ability to discover new antibacterial targets and quickly predict their spectrum and selectivity. The most extensively evaluated bacterial targets for drug development are: quorum sensor biosynthesis; the two component signal transduction(TCST) systems; bacteria division machinery; the shikimate pathway; isoprenoid biosynthesis and fatty acid biosynthesis.

Key words: New targets, quorum sensor biosynthesis, TCST systems, bacteria division machinery, shikimate pathway, isoprenoid biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, antibiotic resistance.