A new mechanism of bacterial membrane defence against environmental stress

Bacterial membranes serve as the first-line of defence and often undergo remodelling in response to external stress. This project focuses on a novel modification mechanism associated with the production of lipoamino acids, a unique class of amino acid-containing lipids. Using systems biology and computational and biophysical tools, this project aims to elucidate the synthesis pathways of lipoamino acids and their impact on bacterial membrane stability and interactions with membrane-targeting compounds. This will reveal for the first time how lipoamino acids contribute to bacterial membrane defence in response to environmental stress, paving the way for the development of new antibacterial compounds targeting bacterial membranes.