Previously, the team discovered a chemical probe that pinpoints where bacterial cells build the polymer that strengthens their walls, called peptidoglycan. The discovery may hold the key to fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to lead chemist, Michael VanNieuwenhze, PhD.
“If you can see how something is being built, you have a better chance of being able to develop ways to interfere with the building process,” said Dr. VanNieuwenhze.
Agreeing with the team’s assessment, the National Institutes of Health awarded them the grant to improve upon their method of examining the dynamics of how cells build peptidoglycan. The team will use the grant to develop better probes to capture images of peptidoglycan construction in E. coli, the bacteria organism Bacillus subtilis and the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.
S. pneumoniae is responsible for roughly 4 million infections — including 1.2 million drug-resistant infections — and 22,000 deaths in the U.S. every year.
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