Melting bacteria to decipher antibiotic resistance
https://phys.org/news/2018-07-bacteria-decipher-antibiotic-resistance.html
While human bodies cease to function at temperatures above 42°C, E. coli bacteria still grow regularly up to 45°C. "We discovered that proteins in the middle of a bacterial cell are less tolerant to heat than those at the cell surface," says Mikhail Savitski. "Surprisingly, a protein's location is more predictive for its melting behavior than which other proteins it interacts with."
With TPP, researchers can also investigate the effects of drugs on bacteria. Protein-drug interactions typically increase the proteins' heat tolerance, resulting in higher melting points. Therefore, comparing the heat tolerance of drug-treated and untreated bacterial cells helps to identify targets of antimicrobial drugs, but also to decipher how the bacterial cell succumbs to the drug or tries to bypass its action.