Antibiotic Resistance Genes Online (ARGO): A Database on vancomycin and β­lactam resistance genes

Abstract

Vancomycin and β­lactams are antibiotics that inhibit gram positive bacteria by interfering with cell wall synthesis. However, continuous use of antibiotics results in the emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains. Here, we describe ARGO, a database containing gene sequences conferring resistance to these two classes of antibiotics. It is designed as a resource to enhance research on the prevalence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes. ARGO is the first attempt to compile the resistance gene sequence data with state specific information.