Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a crisis for the health and wealth of nations if not handled promptly. This project targets the emerging AMR crisis on two fronts:

1. Inhibition of the ability of the bacteria to mutate.

2. Exploitation of new antibacterial targets for multiple drug resistance (MDR) bacteria.

We aim to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the AMR and antibacterial effects of these peptides, providing new insight at atomic resolution essential for further development and optimization of the peptides as therapeutic agents. Structural modelling, design, and synthesis of “peptide mimicking” small molecules and other small molecule inhibitors of the Toxin-Antitoxin regulation are included as a complimentary and novel approach to develop antimicrobial drugs.

The Otterlei group has developed so-called APIM-peptides that have antibacterial activity and that reduce the bacterias´ ability to mutate. The Bjørås group has identified transmembrane peptides in bacteria that exhibit properties as toxins if the expression level is moderately elevated.

In this project we have gathered a consortium with complimentary expertise in microbiology, cell biology, DNA repair, mutagenesis/ translesion synthesis, protein crystallography, NMR, computer modelling and organic synthesis