Indiana University researchers find bacterial vulnerability

Researchers at Indiana University have identified a previously unknown vulnerability in the process bacteria use to construct flagella, the whip-like tails used for movement. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that the construction of these tails places significant stress on the bacterium's protective cell wall, which is composed of peptidoglycan.

By studying the harmless soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis, the research team—led by Professor Daniel Kearns alongside Caroline Dunn and Kehinde Adebiyi—uncovered the mechanisms bacteria employ to prevent this structural stress from destroying the cell. Understanding this connection between motility and cell wall maintenance may provide new pathways for developing treatments to combat drug-resistant bacteria, such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria, which rely on flagella to spread infection.