Discovery and Characterization of a Nitroreductase Capable of Conferring Bacterial Resistance to Chloramphenicol (Cell Chemical Biology)

Crofts et al. report the characterization of bacterial genes that confer chloramphenicol resistance by nitroreduction. The most effective gene, H. influenzae nfsB, encodes an enzyme that efficiently reduces the chloramphenicol nitro group in vitro. The authors found that resistance via reduction could be countered using the anaerobic antibiotic metronidazole.