New Tools for Developing Antibacterial Therapeutics

Bacterial infections are a growing threat to human health. While current treatments of bacterial infections rely largely on antibiotics, our antibiotic arsenals are eroding due to rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance. Moreover, even bacterial strains that are intrinsically susceptible to antibiotics are often refractive to antibiotic treatment when bacteria are internalized inside the eukaryotic host cells or form biofilms. In the current proposal we aim to characterize new antibiotic resistance mechanisms and characterize new antibiotic candidates. The focus will be on inhibitors of protein synthesis, one of the major groups of antibiotics. We also plan to find better options for treatment of biofilms and intracellular infections. In addition, will look into alternatives to antibiotics and attempt to develop better options for phage therapy. For this we will investigate how bacteria and phages functionally and evolutionary interact.