Design of novel peptide inhibitors against the conserved bacterial transcription terminator, Rho.

ABSTRACT: The transcription terminator Rho regulates many physiological processes in bacteria, such as antibiotic sensitivity, DNA repair, RNA remodeling, and so forth, and hence, is a potential antimicrobial target, which is unexplored. The bacteriophage P4 capsid protein, Psu, moonlights as a natural Rho antagonist. Here, we report the design of novel peptides based on the C-terminal region of Psu using phenotypic screening methods. The resultant 38-mer peptides, in addition to containing mutagenized Psu sequences, also contained plasmid sequences, fused to their C termini. Expression of these peptides inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and specifically inhibited Rho-dependent termination in vivo. Peptides 16 and 33 exhibited the best Rho-inhibitory properties in vivo. Direct high-affinity b

SUBMITTER: Ghosh G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8141534 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature