Rapid multiplexed phenotypic screening identifies drug resistance functions for three novel efflux pumps inAcinetobacter baumannii

Drug efflux pumps are one of the key machineries in bacterial drug resistance. Although quite a few of these transport systems have been functionally characterized in various organisms, due to large-scale genome sequencing efforts and improved prediction pipelines there are increasing numbers of putative drug efflux genes annotated. For phenotype identification of the proteins encoded by these genes, we developed a novel high-throughput phenotype screening strategy and demonstrated its utility in identifying phenotypes for putative efflux systems encoded by the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.