Achilles' heel of pathogenic bacteria discovered
Monday, December 17, 2012 - 13:00
in Health & Medicine
Multidrug-resistant bacteria remain a major concern for hospitals and nursing homes worldwide. Propagation of bacterial resistance is alarming and makes the search for new antimicrobials increasingly urgent. Scientists have now identified a potential new target to fight bacteria: the factor EF-P. EF-P plays a crucial role in the production of proteins that are essential for the virulence of EHEC or salmonellae. The researchers' findings suggest that drugs blocking EF-P would impair the fitness of pathogenic bacteria and might lead to a new generation of specific antibiotics that allow to combat infections caused by drug-resistant pathogens.