What distinguishes lantibiotics from antibiotics?
Lantibiotic compounds are ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides against which bacteria are not able to produce resistance, hence making them a good alternative to antibiotics. It is interesting that low levels of resistance have been reported for lantibiotics compared with commercial antibiotics. Given that there are very few examples of naturally occurring lantibiotic resistance, attempts have been made to deliberately induce resistance phenotypes in order to investigate this phenomenon. Other general forms of resistance include the formation of spores or biofilms, which are a common mechanistic response to many classes of antimicrobials.