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Locking down metabolism

An allosteric inhibitor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis tryptophan synthase—an enzyme that is nonessential for in vitro growth—has potent antimicrobial activity, revealing a potentially expanded target list for antimicrobials and greater chemical space for new inhibitors.

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Figure 1: Intermediary metabolism and allosteric inhibitors increase target space for new antimicrobials.

Katie Vicari/Springer Nature

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Correspondence to William R Bishai.

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Bishai, W. Locking down metabolism. Nat Chem Biol 13, 925–926 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.2452

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