Julian Lotke

Bacteria are quickly gaining antibiotic resistance, meaning we are losing practical ways to treat infections. One alternative treatment to antibiotics is small proteins called endolysins. Endolysins bind to the outer layer of bacteria and destroy important bonds, leading to the destruction of the bacteria. We want to find ways to increase the bacterial destruction properties of endolysins to make them even better treatments.

Endolysins consist of two subparts, a binding domain that facilitates binding to the bacteria and a destruction domain that destroys the bacteria. Some naturally occurring endolysins were found to have no binding domain, yet they were still able to destroy their target bacteria 10x more efficiently. The mechanism behind this remains unclear. Prior research has hypothesized that these endolysins are able to bind without a binding domain. One possible explanation is through attraction between the endolysin and the abcteria. If the destruction domain of the endolysin had a positive charge, like a magnet, it would be attracted to the bacteria, which naturally have a negative charge. This attraction could pull the destruction domain of the endolysin towards the bacteria. This idea has been tested, and some results have backed this theory, while others have not. 

My study aims to investigate these conflicting results. A possible reason for the different results could be due to the location of positive charges on the destruction domain. Only a small part of the destruction domain is able to actually destroy the bacteria. This area is known as the active site. It is possible that if the charges on the destruction domain are not near the active site, the wrong part of the destruction domain will be pulled towards the bacteria, leading to no destruction. My study will determine whether the location of charges on the destruction domain affects the ability of the domain to destroy bacteria. By doing so, I will help researchers understand the conditions that need to be met in order to increase the bacterial destruction properties of endolysin treatments. My results will help to push forward the practicality of these treatments for future use.