Low-dose antibiotics: current status and outlook for the future

Antimicrobial therapy is a key factor in our success against pathogens poised to ravage at risk or infected individuals. However, we are currently at a watershed point as we face a growing crisis of antibiotic resistance among diverse pathogens. One area of intense interest is the impact of the application of antibiotics for uses other than the treatment of patients and the association with such utilization with emerging drug resistance. This Research Topic “Low- dose antibiotics: current status and outlook for the future” in Frontiers in Microbiology: Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy details various aspects of the wide ranging effects of antimicrobial therapy from areas such as the regulation of host responses to modulation of bacterial virulence factors to acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes.