Detection of adaptive biomarkers induced in microorganisms by the toxic effect of pharmaceutical compounds

Abstract

Pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) have a toxic effect on biota and especially on bacterial populations by inhibiting their biological processes (essentials or not). If an essential biological pathway is affected, the bacteria enter in an apoptosis-like process inhibiting their growth and multiplication. Sometimes, bacteria adapt to the stress factors such as PhACs by induction of adaptive biomarkers at transcriptional and translational levels. A rapid detection of these adaptive biomarkers by modern biochemical and molecular biological technics allows an efficient monitoring of the toxic effect of PhACs as well as pinpointing the type and location of the affected biological path.