Jessica Collins
Indiana University
Neil Osheroff Lab
Bacterial type II topoisomerases serve as validated targets for antibacterial drug discovery due to their role in relieving topological stress generated during DNA replication. Recently, medicinal chemists synthesized a new class of antibacterials with a spiropyrimidinetrione (SPT) pharmacore that target these enzymes, but their mechanism of action remains ambiguous. My project aims to delineate SPT interactions and resistance mechanisms in drug resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae to further our goal of overcoming antimicrobial resistance.