The conversation and series of treatments administered to Addie from 8:06 to 10:00 underscore the significance of the Gram negative bacteria which are encapsulated with an impermeable lipid bilayer, which confers upon them the ability to exclude and combat the effect of a wide range of antibiotics. This part of the video aptly depicts how the nasty bacterium Stenotrophomonas develops multi-drug resistance through acquisition of certain resistance genes.
The images in the clipping 16:45 to 16:55 accurately illustrate the horizontal gene transfer mechanism of antibiotic resistance of bacteria containing NDM-1 gene that encodes the enzyme metallo-beta-lactamase, which can degrade the beta-lactam antibiotics. The resistance gene is transported from an infectious donor bacterium to a non-infectious recipient bacterium through a circular plasmid vector, thus making these aggressive bacteria challenging to treat.
The clippings from 12:02 to 12:14 are a representation of the Gram staining procedure, so named after the Scientist Hans Christian Gram who invented it. It is a universally used method for distinguishing Gram positive bacteria from Gram negative bacteria, based on their ability to retain or exclude crystal violet stain, owing to their variable cell membrane structure.
I appreciate the use of a disc diffusion assay plate as a prop at 32:36 of the video, to highlight the use of this technique for determination of susceptibility or resistance of bacteria to antibiotics with different zones of inhibition.
The series of discussions from 32:15 to 40:15 identifies and emphasizes the overuse and inappropriate usage of antibiotics, as the primary culprit for evolution of multi-drug resistant bacteria and reinforces the significance of continuing basic molecular research on the Gram negative bacteria to fight these highly infectious organisms.
