CINCINNATI—Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC)
report that they have solved the crystal structure of a protein
involved in holding bacterial cells together in a biofilm, a
major development in their exploration of the causes of
hospital-acquired infections. The finding, the researchers say,
enables them to have an atomic-level view of what the protein
looks like and how it becomes "sticky” in the presence of zinc
ions, forming an extensive adhesive contact crucial to the
formation of infection-causing biofilms. The researchers report
their findings in the online Early Edition of PNAS, the official
journal of the National Academy of Sciences. Andrew Herr, PhD,
an associate professor in the department of molecular genetics,
biochemistry and microbiology at UC and Ohio Eminent Scholar in
structural biology, led the research and wrote the The research
team, in addition to Herr, consisted of Deborah Conrady, PhD,
now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia,
and Jeffrey Wilson, PhD,