Despite ongoing strategies in antibiotic development, bacteria continue to develop resistance mechanisms to every class of antibiotic currently used to treat bacterial infections. It is projected that by 2050, deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistance will surpass cancer as a leading cause of death worldwide. <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </i>is one of the biggest heath threats of this generation. It infects an estimated 2 billion people worldwide, and the cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are increasing exponentially. This research investigates the role of mycobacterial L,D-transpeptidases in cell wall biosynthesis as potential drug targets. Here, we report the amplification of <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i> L,D-transpeptidase genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The annealing temperatures, number of cycles, and primers were varied to optimize amplification of the specific target sequence from genomic DNA. Once purified, the enzymes will be used in biochemical assays to determine their biological function and to assess their potential as novel drug targets.

Investigating mycobacterial L,D-transpeptidases in cell wall biosynthesis

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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