Abstract: Disclosed are methods of inhibiting the growth of pathogens using prodrug compounds as described herein. Also disclosed are methods of treating microbial infections using such compounds.

Abstract: Methods for identifying prodrug antibiotic compounds and direct inhibitory antibiotic compounds utilizing various screens are provided. Also provided are methods for treating infections using these compounds.

Abstract: Methods for identifying prodrug activity utilizing screens with microbial mutants, including null and conditional mutants, transiently gene-repressed microbes, and gene-overexpressing microbes, as well as pooled collections of these are provided. Effective prodrug antibiotics differentially kill or inhibit microbes overexpressing prodrug activating genes and allow non-expressing strains to grow and be readily identified. Methods for detecting prodrug antibiotic activity by detecting a lack of differential sensitivity of multidrug efflux mutant or deficient strains are also provided. Novel pharmaceutical compounds identified by the methods of the invention, pharmaceutical formulations, and methods for treating an infection comprising administering to a subject in need thereof an effective amount of a Compound of the Invention are also provided.

Abstract: The subject of the present invention is the use of bacteriocins and/or their producer strains for the amelioration of digestive functionality and for the amelioration of gastrointestinal tract conditions in monogastric organism species.