Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have designed a short peptide capable of poisoning a key enzyme in disease-causing bacteria, including some of the most deadly and antibiotic-resistant species.
According to the institute, made from a short stretch of about 24 amino acids, the peptide mimics the action of a natural toxin which inhibits a class of enzymes called topoisomerases.
These enzymes play a crucial role in unspooling and re-coiling bacterial DNA during replication and protein synthesis. They are an attractive target for antibiotics because the ones in bacteria are very different from those in humans.
