whereRU: Aresty Poster 140 Structural Studies of Bacterial RNA Polymerase by Aresty Posters 2009

Antibiotic resistant strains of bacterial diseases such as tuberculosis are a threat to humans around the world. To contain and treat such strains, we must first explore the structure of bacterial RNAP with the goal of designing new antibiotics that inhibit the enzyme. The structure of RNAP from Thermus thermophilus in complex with a new class of antibiotics, myxopyronin (myx), has been recently elucidated. We have closely studied the interaction of myx analogs with the ?switch region? of bacterial RNAP and concluded that this region exhibits great potential as a target for inhibitors. Using virtual screening we present structural representations of RNAP from T. thermophilus in complex with the myx analogs from both the pockets. All research has been done in the Arnold Lab at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine in the department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University (Piscataway, NJ). For more information, contact mirap@eden.rutgers.edu.