Understanding how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics and host stresses could guide the development of more effective antimicrobial therapeutics.
The increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii requires zinc to cause infection, and Vanderbilt researchers have identified the zinc uptake system it uses.
Vanderbilt researchers led by Eric Skaar are probing the mechanisms bacteria use when faced with nutrient starvation — a host defense strategy called “nutritional immunity.”
Eric Skaar, Ph.D., MPH, the Ernest W. Goodpasture Professor of Pathology, has received a Scholar Award from the American Asthma Foundation (AAF).
It may be possible to fight hospital-acquired pathogens like Acinetobacter baumannii by targeting the bacterium’s need for the nutrient metal zinc.
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