Drug resistance and physiological roles of RND multidrug efflux pumps in Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Drug efflux pumps transport antimicrobial agents out of bacteria, thereby reducing the intracellular antimicrobial concentration, which is associated with intrinsic and acquired bacterial resistance to these antimicrobials. As genome analysis has advanced, many drug efflux pump genes have been detected in the genomes of bacterial species. In addition to drug resistance, these pumps are involved in various essential physiological functions, such as bacterial adaptation to hostile environments, toxin and metabolite efflux, biofilm formation and quorum sensing. In Gram-negative bacteria, efflux pumps in the resistance-nodulation-division (RND) superfamily play a clinically important role. In this review, we focus on Gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and discuss the role of RND efflux pumps in drug resistance and physiological functions.