 Antibiotics are essential for treating many types of bacterial infection, but overuse and misuse has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. This has become a major public health issue, with the World Health Organization estimating that 700,000 deaths per year can be attributed to antimicrobial resistance. The WHO has identified six bacteria, enterococcus fissium, staphylococcus aureus, klebsiella pneumoniae, acenetobacter bomaniae, pseudomonas aeroginosa, and enterobacter species, that pose the greatest risk to human health, and has assigned them the highest priority status. To combat this problem, researchers must understand how these bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, so that new drugs can be developed to target them. This article was authored by Giuseppe Mancuso, Angelina Mitterai, Elisabeth Gerace, and others.