A new study led by scientists at the University of Oxford has found that small DNA molecules known as plasmids are one of the key culprits in spreading the major global health threat of antibiotic resistance.
Using a novel experimental model, the international team of researchers show that plasmids, which live inside bacteria and are known to be a vehicle for transferring antibiotic resistance genes, can accelerate the evolution of new forms of resistance – making them more important to the process than previously thought.
