Scientists determine structure of key player in antibiotic resistance

With antibiotic-resistant bacteria on the rise, scientists have been searching for ways to shut down the Type IV secretion system (T4SS), a protein complex on the outer envelope of bacterial cells that helps them to exchange DNA with neighbouring bacteria and resist antibiotics.

Now a collaboration between UT Southwestern computational biologist Qian Cong, PhD, and molecular biologists at the University of London has elucidated the structure of the T4SS complex, providing a blueprint that could help researchers design drugs that slow the development of antibiotic resistance. Their findings were published in Nature.