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Home Journal Highlights Essential, Highly Conserved Genes Found in E. coli: Possible Targets for New Antibacterials
Essential, Highly Conserved Genes Found in E. coli: Possible Targets for New Antibacterials Print E-mail

 

palmerMass genome sequencing has revealed hitherto undescribed, conserved genes. Tracy Palmer of the University of Dundee, United Kingdom, et al. show that three highly conserved bacterial genes of unknown function, from the same cellular pathway, are essential to Escherichia coli's viability under standard laboratory conditions.  "Although we do not know the precise role of these proteins, our study is the first to show that they are from the same pathway," says Palmer. "One of the three genes, ygjD, is found in organisms ranging from yeast to humans. ygjD probably was present in the genome of the earliest form of life, suggesting that the protein encoded has a basic, essential function in the cell." It is probably a protease, and Palmer suggests that it may help dispose of old, damaged proteins. Damaged proteins, Palmer points out, are implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer's. The other two proteins may help regulate YgjD, and since these are found only in bacteria, they may form the basis for new antibacterials.

(J. I. Handford, B. Ize, G. Buchanan, G. P. Butland, J. Greenblatt, A. Emili, and T. Palmer. 2009. Conserved network of proteins essential for bacterial viability. J. Bacteriol. 191:4732-4749.)