ABSTRACT
Genomics has opened up the previously mysterious world of microbiology to the possibility of a systematic analysis. A comparative genomics approach is now an integral part of efforts to identify novel broad-spectrum targets for new antimicrobial drugs. However, genomics is also revealing high levels of diversity within bacterial species and significant horizontal transfer of resistance elements through the gene pool. Together, these problematic factors suggest that the number of novel, essential, and susceptible broad-spectrum drug targets is very small. As a consequence, successful development of novel classes of antimicrobials may in the longer term increasingly be tied with the economics of exploiting narrow-spectrum targets. Comparative genomics in its broad sense, including comparative proteomics and structural biology, may be of practical use in this important area if it can lead to a more accurate determination of which candidate drugs should be taken into the expensive stage of clinical trials.
