Biophysics and Molecular Biology of Antimicrobial Resistance: Toward New Targets and Strategies

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the most pressing challenges for global health, threatening the effectiveness of existing antibiotics and undermining decades of medical progress. Addressing AMR requires not only the discovery of new drugs but also a deeper understanding of the fundamental biological mechanisms that underpin bacterial survival, adaptability, and pathogenicity. In this Research Topic, we aim to bring together advances in biophysics and molecular biology to uncover the physical and molecular determinants that drive drug resistance and to identify new strategies for intervention.

Recent progress in biophysical methods, ranging from single-molecule imaging to cryo-electron microscopy, has revealed intricate details of bacterial structures and processes that were previously inaccessible. These approaches, often combined with AI technologies, allow researchers to quantify mechanical properties, cell dynamics, and visualize molecular assemblies at unprecedented resolution. Such insights are critical to understanding how bacteria adapt under selective pressure and develop resistance mechanisms.

Meanwhile, molecular biology continues to play a pivotal role in dissecting gene regulation, protein function, and the molecular networks that sustain bacterial survival in hostile environments. For example, secretion systems, such as type III secretion systems and other export machineries, are central to bacterial virulence, as they enable the delivery of toxins and effector proteins into host cells. These pathogenic strategies shape host-pathogen interactions and complicate therapeutic outcomes. Thus, elucidating the molecular basis of secretion and related processes remains essential to the broader fight against AMR.

By integrating insights from biophysics and molecular biology, this Research Topic seeks to explore how fundamental bacterial processes contribute to resistance, pathogenesis, and therapeutic evasion. We encourage contributions that range from basic mechanistic studies to translational approaches aiming to identify new antimicrobial targets or innovative treatment strategies.

The scope of this Research Topic includes the following sub-themes:

• Biophysical insights into bacterial motility, energy transduction, and mechanical properties
• Molecular mechanisms underlying antimicrobial resistance and drug tolerance
• Structural and functional studies of bacterial secretion systems and their role in virulence
• Innovative approaches that exploit biophysical or molecular vulnerabilities as therapeutic targets
• Cross-disciplinary methodologies that bridge microbiology, biophysics, and molecular genetics to address AMR

In this Research Topic we consider the following article types: Original Research, Methods, Mini Review, Review, and Perspective.

Through this collection, we hope to provide a platform for researchers to exchange ideas, broaden the scope of AMR studies beyond traditional boundaries, and inspire innovative solutions to one of the most pressing challenges in modern medicine.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, Biophysics, Molecular biology, Bacterial motility, Bacterial secretion system

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.