Conjugation inhibitors compete with palmitic acid for binding to the conjugative traffic ATPase TrwD, providing a mechanism to inhibit bacterial conjugation.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial conjugation is a key mechanism by which bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance. Therefore, conjugation inhibitors (COINs) are promising compounds in the fight against the spread of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria. Unsaturated fatty acids (uFAs) and alkynoic fatty acid derivatives, such as 2-hexadecanoic acid (2-HDA), have been reported previously as being effective COINs. The traffic ATPase TrwD, a VirB11 homolog in plasmid R388, is the molecular target of these compounds, which likely affect binding of TrwD to bacterial membranes. In this work, we demonstrate that COINs are abundantly incorporated into Escherichia coli membranes, replacing palmitic acid as the major component of the membrane. We also show that TrwD binds palmitic acid, thus facilitating its int

SUBMITTER: Garcia-Cazorla Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6204903 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature