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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 16: Systems Biophysics

BP 16.1: Hauptvortrag

Mittwoch, 29. März 2023, 11:15–11:45, BAR 0106

Systems biophysics of bacterial response to cell wall-targeting antibiotics — Rebecca Brouwers¹, Sharareh Tavaddod¹, Leonardo Mancini², Jacob Biboy³, Elizabeth Tatham¹, Pietro Cicuta², Waldemar Vollmer³, and •Rosalind Allen^1,4 — ¹School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK — ²Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK — ³Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, UK — ⁴Theoretical Microbial Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Jena, Germany

Antibiotics are central in modern medicine, yet bacterial infections are increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics. To use antibiotics more effectively, we need to understand better how they work. We have used a combination of microbiological and biophysical experiments, and theoretical modelling, to probe how the antibiotic mecillinam, which targets bacterial cell wall synthesis, kills the bacterium Escherichia coli. Comparing killing dynamics under conditions of rich and poor nutrients we conclude that the balance between the rates of creation of cell surface area and volume plays a crucial role in the fate of cells when exposed to this antibiotic.