Using the power of cryo-EM to elucidate the molecular mechanism of Cannibalism in Clostridium difficile

产孢子菌具有一个不同寻常的特征，被称为“同类”：它们分泌一种毒素，杀死非产孢子细胞，允许产孢子细胞清除它们的营养。然而，这种毒素如何杀死细菌，以及产孢子细胞如何对其免疫的分子细节尚不清楚。该项目的目的是使用冷冻-EM技术，这是一项革命性的技术，它已经彻底改变了我们在分子水平上了解生物过程的能力，并结合其他生物物理和体内分析，来破译人类病原体艰难梭菌同类相食的细节。这可能对获得新的抗菌疗法产生重大影响。

Sporulating bacteria possess an unusual trait, termed "Cannibalism": they secrete a toxin,which kills non-sporulating cells, allowing the sporulating cells to scavenge their nutrients.However, the molecular details of how this toxin kills bacteria, and how sporulating cells areimmune to it, is not understood. The aim of this project is to use cryo-EM, a transformativetechnology that has revolutionized our capacity to understand biological processes at themolecular level, combined with other biophysical and in-vivo assays, to decipher the detailsof Cannibalism in the human pathogen C. difficile. This could have major implications forobtaining new antimicrobial therapeutics.