A new Achilles heel of the bacterial cell wall

The bacterial cell wall must be constantly remodeled in order to grow and divide. This involves the close coordination of lytic enzymes and peptidoglycan synthesis. In their study published in Nature Communications, researchers ...

How blocking cell wall formation stops bacterial cell division

Researchers still do not understand exactly how antibiotics kill bacteria. However, this understanding is necessary to develop new antibiotics. And that is precisely what is urgently needed, because bacteria are currently ...

'Like a magic trick,' certain proteins pass through cell walls

For decades, scientists have wondered how large molecules such as proteins pass through cell walls, also known as plasma membranes, without leaving a trace. That ability is part of what makes certain drugs—including some ...

An unprecedented discovery of cell fusion

Like humans, bacteria live together in communities, sometimes lending a hand—or in the case of bacteria, a metabolite or two—to help their neighbors thrive. Understanding how bacteria interact is critical to solving growing ...

How bugs overcome host defenses

Bacterial pathogens must acquire nutrient metals from the host to survive and cause disease. To counter infection, hosts attempt to starve bacteria by hiding metals away in a process called "nutritional immunity." Bacteria ...

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