Melting bacteria to decipher antibiotic resistance

Melting bacteria to decipher antibiotic resistance

6 years ago
Anonymous $cyhBy-qkd5

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.

Melting bacteria to decipher antibiotic resistance

Jul 6, 2018, 3:34pm UTC
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.