Researchers from Auburn physics uncover molecular secrets of dangerous bacterial infections
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Scientists at Auburn University have made a breakthrough in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria with a new study on the molecular origins mecanostability during bacterial infections.
In the study, they investigate the interaction between bacterial and human cell proteins. The interaction is known to play a significant role in the development of hospital-acquired infections, offering possible routes for the development of a new class of antimicrobial therapies that target these proteins.
Auburn biophysicist Rafael C. Bernardi, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics, led a team whose research is featured in the cover of the prestigious "Journal of the American Chemical Society," or JACS. The article, "Molecular Origins of Force-Dependent Protein Complex Stabilization during Bacterial Infections," discusses how Staph bacteria can cling to human cells creating bonds that can resist for many hours under high shear forces. Using a dynamic network analysis approach, developed in Bernardi’s group, they identify the amino acid contacts that are essential in creating stable mechanical dissociation paths.
