Scientists at the Institut Pasteur and CNRS have shown that the use of low dose antibiotics can increase the emergence of resistance among pathogenic bacteria. They have observed that a low concentration of antibiotics is enough to activate a stress response in these bacteria. This response, known as "SOS", leads to the acquisition of resistance genes via two separate pathways. This work is the subject of an article published online on the Plos Genetics website on April 11.
