Antibiotics affect bacterial cell physiology at many levels. Rather than just compensating for the direct cellular defects caused by the drug, bacteria respond to antibiotics by changing their morphology, macromolecular composition, metabolism, gene expression and possibly even their mutation rate. Inevitably, these processes affect each other, resulting in a complex response with changes in the expression of numerous genes. Genome‐wide approaches can thus help in gaining a comprehensive understanding of bacterial responses to antibiotics. In addition, a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches is needed for identifying general principles that underlie these responses. Here, we review recent progress in our understanding of bacterial responses to antibiotics and their combinations, focusing on effects at the levels of growth rate and gene expression. We concentrate on studies performed in controlled laboratory conditions, which combine promising experimental techniques with quantitative data analysis and mathematical modeling. While these basic research approaches are not immediately applicable in the clinic, uncovering the principles and mechanisms underlying bacterial responses to antibiotics may, in the long term, contribute to the development of new treatment strategies to cope with and prevent the rise of resistant pathogenic bacteria.

中文翻译：

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抗生素及其组合的细菌反应。

抗生素会在许多层面上影响细菌细胞的生理。细菌不仅可以补偿药物引起的直接细胞缺陷，还可以通过改变其形态，大分子组成，代谢，基因表达甚至可能改变突变率来对抗生素做出反应。这些过程不可避免地会相互影响，从而导致复杂的响应以及众多基因表达的变化。因此，全基因组方法可有助于全面了解细菌对抗生素的反应。此外，需要将实验方法与理论方法结合起来，以确定构成这些反应基础的一般原则。在这里，我们回顾了在了解细菌对抗生素及其组合的反应方面的最新进展，着重于增长率和基因表达水平的影响。我们专注于在受控实验室条件下进行的研究，这些研究将有前途的实验技术与定量数据分析和数学建模相结合。尽管这些基础研究方法不能立即应用于临床，但是从长远来看，揭示细菌对抗生素反应的原理和机制可能有助于开发新的治疗策略，以应对和预防耐药病原菌的出现。