AUTHOR=Punchihewage-Don Anuradha Jeewantha , Ranaweera Priyanka Nilmini , Parveen Salina 

TITLE=Defense mechanisms of Salmonella against antibiotics: a review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Antibiotics

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/antibiotics/articles/10.3389/frabi.2024.1448796

DOI=10.3389/frabi.2024.1448796

ISSN=2813-2467

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Salmonella</italic> is a foodborne pathogenic bacterium that causes salmonellosis worldwide. Also, <italic>Salmonella</italic> is considered a serious problem for food safety and public health. Several antimicrobial classes including aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, phenols, and β-Lactams are used to treat <italic>Salmonella</italic> infections. Antibiotics have been prescribed for decades to treat infections caused by bacteria in human and animal healthcare. However, intensive use of antibiotics resulted in antibiotic resistance (AR) among several foodborne bacteria including <italic>Salmonella</italic>. Furthermore, multi-drug resistance (MDR) of <italic>Salmonella</italic> has increased dramatically. In addition to MDR <italic>Salmonella</italic>, extensively drug resistant (XDR) as well as pan drug resistant (PDR) <italic>Salmonella</italic> were reported globally. Therefore, increasing AR is becoming a serious universal public health crisis. <italic>Salmonella</italic> developed many mechanisms to ensure its survival against antimicrobials. The most prominent defense mechanisms against these antibiotics include enzymatic inactivation, expelling drugs from the cell through efflux pumps, altering the structure of drugs, and changing or protecting the targets of drugs. Additionally, the formation of biofilms and plasmid-mediated AR by <italic>Salmonella</italic>, enhancing its resistance to various antibiotics, making it a challenging pathogen in both healthcare and food industry settings. This review focuses exclusively on providing a detailed overview of the mechanisms of AR in <italic>Salmonella</italic>.</p>