Designing AI-generated antimicrobials for targeting bacterial microdomains.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial membranes are essential for processes such as nutrient transport, signal transduction, and maintaining cellular integrity. Within these membranes, specialized microdomains like cardiolipin-rich domains, serve as key sites for protein localization, membrane curvature regulation, and stress response. These microdomains possess high anionic headgroup density and specific lipid composition, which can enhance electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions with antimicrobial agents. In this study, we investigated whether antimicrobial compounds can selectively target membranes with distinct lateral lipid distributions. To this end, we modeled two bacterial membrane systems: one with a randomized lipid composition and another featuring an idealized cardiolipin-rich microdomain. Using a gene

SUBMITTER: Rzycki M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12800277 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature