Fiyinfoluwa Ifeoluwa Babatunde

• BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences
• Bacterial recycling of D-alanine during Bacillus subtilis peptidoglycan synthesis

In normal bacterial cell wall synthesis D alanine a peptide component of the cell wall is released presumably into the external environment and recycled using certain proteins.  Bacillus subtillis culture however does not release detectable amounts of D alanine into culture medium as shown from recent analyses whereas Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium with similar cell wall structure releases a significant amount.  The project will use genetic approaches such as synthetic lethal screen on strains of B. subtilis that fully rely on external sources of D alanine to identify genes and proteins involved in the uptake of D alanine.

Funding source: Newcastle University