Structural and Biophysical Characterisation of LacI family transcription factor Cra from the bacteria E. coli

Abstract

The discovery of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents has been thought of as a boon for the human population. Since their discovery, antibiotics have been excessively used to help increase life expectancy. But their overuse has led to the increased development of resistance among bacterial species, creating multi-drug resistant strains which are very hard to tackle. For cases of Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli infections, antibiotics are found to even result in increased disease severity. Hence, an alternative to antimicrobials like the use of transcription factors to target critical biological functions of these drug-resistant bacterial strains is highly in need. With the understanding of the crystal structure of E. coli transcription factors like Catabolite Repressor/Activator, regulating the transcription of virulence genes, effective drug molecules can be developed against these bacteria. The crystal structure of Cra has been analysed along with the molecular docking of its DNA binding domain with its operator DNA sequence. This information can prove valuable in the search for potential drug molecules for the treatment of Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli infections