[Embargoed for release until 12 p.m. ET Thursday, August 5,
2004, to coincide with publication in the journal Cell.] BAD
NEWS FOR PATHOGENIC BACTERIA: SCIENTISTS FIND PROTEIN ESSENTIAL
FOR BACTERIAL SURVIVAL COLUMBUS, Ohio – Further investigation
into how the common organism Escherichia coli regulates gene
expression has given scientists new ideas for designing
antibiotics that might drastically reduce a bacterium's ability
to resist drugs. The findings, reported in the current issue of
the journal Cell, suggest that bacteria rely on a key protein in
order to properly regulate gene expression -- a process
fundamental to cell survival. This protein, called DksA,
coordinates the expression of numerous genes in response to
environmental signals. Figuring out how to block DksA production
in harmful bacteria may help scientists develop antibiotics that
these bacteria are less likely to resist, said Irina
Artsimovitch, a study co-author and an assistant professor of
microbiology at Ohio State University. The curren