Box 2 inset. Network biology approaches for antibiotic functional analysis and therapeutic development.

Introduction of novel connections or alteration of the connectivity among genes in an antibiotic-related network can be used to refine or expand our knowledge of these networks and interrogate drug networks for novel antibiotic targets. Synthetic gene networks, therapeutic proteins or antimicrobial peptides that enhance antibiotic efficacy can also be delivered directly to bacteria through species-specific delivery mechanisms such as bacteriophage.