Person:

Wzorek Jr., Joseph Stanley

The protein complex that assembles integral membrane β-barrel proteins in the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria is an attractive target in the development of new antibiotics. This complex, the β-barrel assembly machine (Bam), contains two essential proteins, BamA and BamD. We have identified a peptide that inhibits the assembly of β-barrel proteins in vitro by characterizing the interaction of BamD with an unfolded substrate protein. This peptide is a fragment of the substrate protein and contains a conserved amino acid sequence. We have demonstrated that mutations of this sequence in the full-length substrate protein impair the protein’s assembly,implying that BamD’s interaction with this sequence is an important part of the assembly mechanism. Finally, we have found that in vivo expression of a peptide containing this sequence causes growth defects and sensitizes E. coli to antibiotics to which they are normally resistant. Therefore, inhibiting the binding of substrates to BamD is a viable strategy for developing new antibiotics directed against Gram-negative bacteria.