Scripps Research study reveals new approach for combating resting bacteria Blocking long phosphate molecules could eventually help treat chronic infections in which slow-growing bacteria evade typical antibiotics.
April 11, 2024
LA JOLLA, CA Most disease-causing bacteria are known for their speed: In mere minutes, they can double their population, quickly making a person sick. But just as dangerous as this rapid growth can be a bacterium's resting state, which helps the pathogen evade antibiotics and contributes to severe chronic infections in the lungs and blood, within wounds, and on the surfaces of medical devices.
Now, Scripps Research scientists have discovered how long chains of molecules called polyphosphates (polyP) are needed for bacteria to slow down movements within cells and let them enter this resting state. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 02, 2024, could eventually lead to new ways of treating chronic infections in which typical antibiotics aren't effective.
Many current antibiotics block bacterial growth, but bacteria spend a lot of their time not growing, says Lisa Racki, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research and senior author of the new paper. We really need new and creative strategies for targeting bacteria's slow-growing and non-growing phases.
Researchers have long known that bacteria can survive for especially long periods of time when they stop growing, entering a dormant and energy-saving state. They also knew that when bacteria enter this resting state, they use valuable energy to produce polyP strands, which form large clumps inside their cells. But scientists had been historically unsure about the purpose of polyP.
To study polyP, Racki and her collaborators turned to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, bacteria that can cause pneumonia and blood infections in people who are hospitalized or have weakened immune systems. One of the reasons P. aeruginosa can be so hard to treat is that it forms biofilms tightly joined, slimy communities of bacteria, many of which are in a resting state and can evade typical antibiotics.
When P. aeruginosa is starved of nitrogen one of the key nutrients it needs for growth it produces lots of polyP. In the new work, Racki and her collaborators at EPFL and Caltech discovered that a mutant unable to make polyP cannot enter its resting state. To better understand why this happens and the consequences, the researchers genetically engineered P. aeruginosa to make small, labeled particles that let them track how molecules within the bacteria were moving around.
What we found is that when you get rid of polyP, everything in the cell moves too much, says Racki. The cells are partying when they should be taking a break.
When starved of most nutrients, P. aeruginosa slows the movement of materials within its interior and stops dividing. But without nitrogen and polyP, the bacteria keep moving materials around at top-speed, become bigger, loosen their genetic material and continue dividing.
Racki's team concluded that polyP is usually responsible for helping P. aeruginosa and likely other bacterial species slow down. It also leads them to hypothesize that preventing cells from producing polyP could keep them active and make them more susceptible to some antibiotics.
This not only helps point in possible directions for treating pathogenic bacteria, but also reveals answers for fundamental questions about how things diffuse throughout a bacterial cell, says Racki.
Racki and her lab are now planning more experiments to better probe exactly why cells cannot slow their interior movements without polyP, and whether blocking the bacterial production of polyP could be an effective tactic to treat some infections.
In addition to Racki, authors of the study, Polyphosphate affects cytoplasmic and chromosomal dynamics in nitrogen-starved Pseudomonas aeruginosa , are Sofia Magkiriadou, Willi Leopold Stepp and Suliana Manley of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL); and Dianne Newman of Caltech.
This work was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (DP2-GM- 784-140918), the European Research Council (ERC CoG 819823), the Swiss National Science Foundation (182429), and the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Fellowship.
Infectious Diseases Racki, Lisa
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
02/07/2026
Summer is heating up - and GeForce NOW is taking players along for the ride.
Start the month with Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, bringing a galaxy fa...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
Scripps Research study reveals new approach for combating resting bacteria Blocking long phosphate molecules could eventually help treat chronic infections in which slow-growing bacteria evade typical antibiotics. 
