PodA tagged posts

Crystal structure of the PodA protein complex with three molecules of 1-hydroxyphenazine, the reaction product, bound in the active sites. Credit: Kyle Costa/Caltech

Many infectious pathogens are difficult to treat because they develop into biofilms, layers of metabolically active but slowly growing bacteria embedded in a protective layer of slime, which are inherently more resistant to antibiotics. Now, researchers at Caltech and University of Oxford have made progress in the fight against biofilms. Led by Dianne Newman, the Gordon M. Binder/Amgen Professor of Biology and Geobiology, the group identified a protein that degrades and inhibits biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the primary pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) infections.

“Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes chronic infections that ar...