Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Scientific Correspondence
Nature 394, 531-532 (6 August 1998) | doi:10.1038/28970
Open Innovation Challenges
-
Methods of Modeling Adaptation in Populations
The analysis of adaptation with a population is a frequently encountered computational modeling scen...
-
Optimizing Sub-cellular Localization Tags
The Seeker is looking for methods to optimize sub-cellular localization tags for protein expression....
- More Challenges
- Powered by:
nature jobs
Senior Executive- Finance Corporate Office
- Rhydburg Pharmaceuticals
- Selaqui-Dehradun India
Basic Science Medical Educators
- Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
- El Paso, Texas, USA
Triclosan targets lipid synthesis
Laura M. McMurry1, Margret Oethinger1 & Stuart B. Levy1
Abstract
Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal agent1,2, which acts by previously undetermined mechanisms, that is used in products such as antiseptic soaps, toothpastes, fabrics and plastics. Here we show that triclosan blocks lipid synthesis in Escherichia coli, and that mutations in, or overexpression of, the gene fabI (which encodes enoyl reductase, involved in fatty acid synthesis) prevents this blockage. This is, to our knowledge, the first evidence that triclosan acts on a specific bacterial target, rather than as a nonspecific 'biocide'.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
