Gene network analysis of efflux pump proteins in Shigella spp.

Abstract The prevalence of multi-drug resistant bacteria is a global concern and addressing this issue is the need of the hour. Efflux mediated resistance is one of the major mechanisms of drug resistance in bacteria and is mainly attributed to the class of Resistance Nodulation Division pumps. In our study, a network of directly interacting proteins with the components of the AcrAB-TolC efflux system was generated. Functional enrichment analysis was performed for the concerned genes. The protein-protein association network was grouped in clusters and topological parameters were analysed. From the study, we sorted out genes that have no direct connection to the efflux system from those which can act as drug targets.