Antibiotics: current innovations and future trends

"In this timely book, respected international experts summarize the most important research to provide an overview of the field [antibiotics]. Opening chapters define 'antibiotic', explain why we need new compounds, outline the applications of antibiotics, both old and new, and describe the producing microbes. These are followed by chapters that cover antibiotic resistance, toxicity, overuse, new antimicrobial sources, new targets, novel technologies for antibiotic discover (e.g. silent gene clusters), lantibiotics, natural antivirals, new macrolide derivatives, and antibiotics in the pipeline. This book is essential reading for everyone working in antimicrobial research in academia, biotechnology companies, and the pharmaceutical industry and a recommended volume for all microbiology libraries."--Provided by publisher.

Contributors -- Preface -- What is an antibiotic? / Joan Wennstrom Bennett -- Main applications of antibiotics / Biao Ren [and six others]. -- Microorganisms producing antibiotics / János Bérdy -- The need for new antibiotics / Arnold L. Demain and Sergio Sánchez -- Tackling antibiotic resistance / Jaroslav Spizek and Vladimir Havlicek -- Eradication of dormant pathogens / Kim Lewis, Brian Conlon and Michael LaFleur -- Toxicity of antibacterial drugs / Steven J. Projan -- Overuse of antibiotics: non-medical applications / Nelson Kardos -- Antibiotics for emerging and re-emerging diseases / Kazuro Shiomi and Satoshi Ōmura -- Endophytes as a potential source of new antibiotics / Silvia Guzmán-Trampe [and others] -- Antibiotics from microorganisms from hot springs/geysers / Girish B. Mahajan -- New sources of antibiotics: caves / Naowarat Cheeptham and Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez -- Animal venoms as natural resources of antimicrobials / Ramar Perumal Samy [and others] -- New targets for antibacterial compounds / Lynn L. Silver -- Novel antimicrobial and other bioactive metabolites obtained from silent gene clusters / Juan F. Martín and Paloma Liras -- Combinatorial biosynthesis for antibiot…