Engineering bacteria for self-sabotage

Antibiotic resistance causes annual 33,000 deaths in Europe according to a report of European Centre for Disease prevention and Control, and by the year 2050, it could cause more that 10 million deaths worldwide. Currently available broad-spectrum antibiotics proved effective in killing a wide range of bacteria. However, these drugs induce selective pressure for resistance development owing to their indiscriminate effect on viability and simultaneously destroying beneficial non-pathogenic gut microbiota. This project aims to understand genetic details of virulence in pathogenic bacteria in order to engineer them in a specific way to induce the self-killing process in pathogens. We will address key fundamental questions about virulence induction signals in pathogens and, on how bacteria regulates the metabolic activities in the cell to maintain a balance between viability and pathogenesis. Results from this project will not only enhance the fundamental knowledge of bacterial physiology during infection but the outcome will also be a major breakthrough in designing unique strategies for the development of novel pathogen specific antibiotics in the future.