Reactive metabolic byproducts contribute to antibiotic lethality under anaerobic conditions

Understanding how bactericidal antibiotics kill bacteria remains an open question. Previous work has proposed that primary drug-target corruption leads to increased energetic demands, resulting in the generation of reactive metabolic byproducts (RMBs), particularly reactive oxygen species, that contribute to antibiotic-induced cell death. Studies have challenged this hypothesis by pointing to antibiotic lethality under anaerobic conditions. …