Novel antibiotic mechanisms to inhibit bacterial cell division

• Applicant: Dr. Peter Sass
• Subject Area: Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Hygiene, Molecular Infection Biology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 532237756

Antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action are desperately needed considering the increasing prevalence of microbes that are resistant to one, several or almost all clinically used antibiotics. Bacterial cell division, a vital process that is closely associated to cell envelope functions, results in the generation of progeny, commonly by binary fission of a parent cell into identical daughter cells. Successful cell division is a prerequisite for the viability of the offspring and requires the correct execution and coordination of a plethora of cellular processes in time and space. Due to its complexity and highly coordinated nature, bacterial cell division has emerged as a promising new antibiotic target pathway. In this project, we will elucidate the mode of action of the antibiotic aurantimycin which exhibits a potential new mechanism to perturb bacterial cell division, and we will investigate its impact on the biology of the bacterial cell.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants