MarR family proteins are important regulators of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance

There has been a rapid spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria across the world. MDR efflux transporters are an important mechanism of antibiotic resistance in many pathogens among both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. These pumps can recognize a variety of chemically and structurally different compounds, including innate and clinically administered antibiotics. Intriguingly, these efflux pumps are often regulated by transcription factors that themselves bind a diverse set of substrates thereby allowing them to regulate the expression of their cognate MDR efflux pumps. One significant family of such transcription factors is the Multiple antibiotic resistance Repressor (MarR) family. Members of this family are well conserved across different bacterial species and in some cases are known to regulate vital bacterial functions. This review focusses on the role of MarR family transcriptional factors in antibiotic resistance within a select group of clinically relevant pathogens.