Biology Commons^™

Genetic Analysis Of Vancomycin-Resistant Gram-Positive Cocci Isolated From Wild Songbirds, Shingo Ishihara

Master's Theses

The antibiotic vancomycin was developed by Eli Lilly in the 1950s in response to the growing number of Staphylococcus aureus infections that were resistant to penicillin. Vancomycin was not widely used at the time because of its high toxicity. However, use of vancomycin in the United States has increased dramatically since the 1980s because of the emergence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Enterococcus species. There are three known mechanisms for vancomycin resistance: 1) target site modification by van genes, 2) biofilm formation, and 3) bacterial cell wall thickening. Of these mechanisms, target site modification is the most common. …