Membrane Vacuum Cleaner Suggested as Potential Gram-Negative Bacteria Target

Scientists at the U.K.’s University of Newcastle suggest that a bacterial membrane protein that acts as a type of membrane vacuum cleaner could represent a promising new target for rendering harmful Gram negative strains susceptible to existing, a well as new antibiotics. Blocking the protein, which is called Mla (maintenance of outer membrane lipid asymmetry), would effectively disrupt the composition of one of the two layers of the bacterium’s outer membrane, which normally acts as