title: The role of efflux in bacterial resistance to soft metals and metalloids.
abstract: Bacteria have evolved various types of resistance mechanism to toxic soft metals and metalloids, including cadmium/zinc, copper/silver and arsenic/antimony. Active efflux of the metal is a frequently utilized stratagem to produce resistance by lowering the intracellular concentration to subtoxic levels. Reduction to a less-toxic form or to a form recognized by an efflux system also occurs. Pumps utilized for resistance may have evolved from normal cellular systems. For example, plasmid-mediated cadmium resistances may have evolved from a common ancestor of the pump involved in zinc homoeostasis. Pumps are more efficient than carriers and may have evolved by developing carriers that associate with ATPase subunits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Rosen
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D017136:Ion Transport; D008670:Metals / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008670:Metals; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases