Research Initiation Award: Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Phosphoenolpyruvate-Phosphotransferase System

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Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improve research and teaching at his home institution, and involve undergraduate students in research experiences. The goal of the project is to develop a new generation of agents for the control of microorganisms. This may lead to the development of novel microbial control strategies leading to the development of new techniques and protocols with applications in engineering as well as the physical, biological, medical and pharmaceutical sciences. This project will enhance the research experience and training of undergraduate students at Howard University. Additionally, it will produce knowledge, tools, and applications that will: help sustain existing scientific and educational efforts at Howard University; be integrated into existing courses; and help develop new courses with an interdisciplinary focus.This project seeks to identify and characterize small-molecule inhibitors of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-carbohydrate phosphotransferease system (PTS). The studies specifically aim to measure specificity and potency of candidate compounds to inhibit PTS activity; to evaluate the broad-spectrum inhibition of biofilm formation by candidate compounds; and to establish the mechanism of action of selected candidate compounds. Given the connection between PTS activity and biofilm formation, this project hypothesizes that the identification of small-molecule modulators of the PTS will reveal new tools and approaches to regulate biofilm formation by interfering with microbial metabolic functions. Identification of novel interactions between chemical structures and targets will result from this project.