1
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Kraus S, Fletcher ML, Łapińska U, Chawla K, Baker E, Attrill EL, O'Neill P, Farbos A, Jeffries A, Galyov EE, Korbsrisate S, Barnes KB, Harding SV, Tsaneva-Atanasova K, Blaskovich MAT, Pagliara S. Phage-induced efflux down-regulation boosts antibiotic efficacy. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012361. [PMID: 38941361 PMCID: PMC11239113 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
The interactions between a virus and its host vary in space and time and are affected by the presence of molecules that alter the physiology of either the host or the virus. Determining the molecular mechanisms at the basis of these interactions is paramount for predicting the fate of bacterial and phage populations and for designing rational phage-antibiotic therapies. We study the interactions between stationary phase Burkholderia thailandensis and the phage ΦBp-AMP1. Although heterogeneous genetic resistance to phage rapidly emerges in B. thailandensis, the presence of phage enhances the efficacy of three major antibiotic classes, the quinolones, the beta-lactams and the tetracyclines, but antagonizes tetrahydrofolate synthesis inhibitors. We discovered that enhanced antibiotic efficacy is facilitated by reduced antibiotic efflux in the presence of phage. This new phage-antibiotic therapy allows for eradication of stationary phase bacteria, whilst requiring reduced antibiotic concentrations, which is crucial for treating infections in sites where it is difficult to achieve high antibiotic concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Kraus
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Megan L Fletcher
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Urszula Łapińska
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Krina Chawla
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Evan Baker
- Department of Mathematics and Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
- EPSRC Hub for Quantitative Modelling in Healthcare, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Erin L Attrill
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Paul O'Neill
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Audrey Farbos
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Aaron Jeffries
- Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QD, United Kingdom
| | - Edouard E Galyov
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Sunee Korbsrisate
- Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok Thailand
| | - Kay B Barnes
- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah V Harding
- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
| | - Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova
- Department of Mathematics and Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
- EPSRC Hub for Quantitative Modelling in Healthcare, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Mark A T Blaskovich
- Centre for Superbug Solutions, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Stefano Pagliara
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
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2
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Attrill EL, Łapińska U, Westra ER, Harding SV, Pagliara S. Slow growing bacteria survive bacteriophage in isolation. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2023; 3:95. [PMID: 37684358 PMCID: PMC10491631 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-023-00299-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
The interactions between bacteria and bacteriophage have important roles in the global ecosystem; in turn changes in environmental parameters affect the interactions between bacteria and phage. However, there is a lack of knowledge on whether clonal bacterial populations harbour different phenotypes that respond to phage in distinct ways and whether the abundance of such phenotypes within bacterial populations is affected by variations in environmental parameters. Here we study the impact of variations in nutrient availability, bacterial growth rate and phage abundance on the interactions between the phage T4 and individual Escherichia coli cells confined in spatial refuges. Surprisingly, we found that fast growing bacteria survive together with all of their clonal kin cells, whereas slow growing bacteria survive in isolation. We also discovered that the number of bacteria that survive in isolation decreases at increasing phage doses possibly due to lysis inhibition in the presence of secondary adsorptions. We further show that these changes in the phenotypic composition of the E. coli population have important consequences on the bacterial and phage population dynamics and should therefore be considered when investigating bacteria-phage interactions in ecological, health or food production settings in structured environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin L Attrill
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Urszula Łapińska
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Edze R Westra
- Environment and Sustainability Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Sarah V Harding
- Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK
- Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Stefano Pagliara
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
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3
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Gostaviceanu A, Gavrilaş S, Copolovici L, Copolovici DM. Membrane-Active Peptides and Their Potential Biomedical Application. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:2091. [PMID: 37631305 PMCID: PMC10459175 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15082091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Membrane-active peptides (MAPs) possess unique properties that make them valuable tools for studying membrane structure and function and promising candidates for therapeutic applications. This review paper provides an overview of the fundamental aspects of MAPs, focusing on their membrane interaction mechanisms and potential applications. MAPs exhibit various structural features, including amphipathic structures and specific amino acid residues, enabling selective interaction with multiple membranes. Their mechanisms of action involve disrupting lipid bilayers through different pathways, depending on peptide properties and membrane composition. The therapeutic potential of MAPs is significant. They have demonstrated antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi, making them promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics. MAPs can selectively target cancer cells and induce apoptosis, opening new avenues in cancer therapeutics. Additionally, MAPs serve as drug delivery vectors, facilitating the transport of therapeutic cargoes across cell membranes. They represent a fascinating class of biomolecules with significant potential in basic research and clinical applications. Understanding their mechanisms of action and designing peptides with enhanced selectivity and efficacy will further expand their utility in diverse fields. Exploring MAPs holds promise for developing novel therapeutic strategies against infections, cancer, and drug delivery challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreea Gostaviceanu
- Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection, and Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Technical and Natural Sciences, Aurel Vlaicu University, Elena Drăgoi St., No. 2, 310330 Arad, Romania; (A.G.); (S.G.); (L.C.)
- Biomedical Sciences Doctoral School, University of Oradea, University St., No. 1, 410087 Oradea, Romania
| | - Simona Gavrilaş
- Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection, and Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Technical and Natural Sciences, Aurel Vlaicu University, Elena Drăgoi St., No. 2, 310330 Arad, Romania; (A.G.); (S.G.); (L.C.)
| | - Lucian Copolovici
- Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection, and Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Technical and Natural Sciences, Aurel Vlaicu University, Elena Drăgoi St., No. 2, 310330 Arad, Romania; (A.G.); (S.G.); (L.C.)
| | - Dana Maria Copolovici
- Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection, and Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Technical and Natural Sciences, Aurel Vlaicu University, Elena Drăgoi St., No. 2, 310330 Arad, Romania; (A.G.); (S.G.); (L.C.)
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4
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Zhang Y, Kepiro I, Ryadnov MG, Pagliara S. Single Cell Killing Kinetics Differentiate Phenotypic Bacterial Responses to Different Antibacterial Classes. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0366722. [PMID: 36651776 PMCID: PMC9927147 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03667-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
With the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, there has been an increasing focus on molecular classes that have not yet yielded an antibiotic. A key capability for assessing and prescribing new antibacterial treatments is to compare the effects antibacterial agents have on bacterial growth at a phenotypic, single-cell level. Here, we combined time-lapse microscopy with microfluidics to investigate the concentration-dependent killing kinetics of stationary-phase Escherichia coli cells. We used antibacterial agents from three different molecular classes, β-lactams and fluoroquinolones, with the known antibiotics ampicillin and ciprofloxacin, respectively, and a new experimental class, protein Ψ-capsids. We found that bacterial cells elongated when treated with ampicillin and ciprofloxacin used at their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). This was in contrast to Ψ-capsids, which arrested bacterial elongation within the first two hours of treatment. At concentrations exceeding the MIC, all the antibacterial agents tested arrested bacterial growth within the first 2 h of treatment. Further, our single-cell experiments revealed differences in the modes of action of three different agents. At the MIC, ampicillin and ciprofloxacin caused the lysis of bacterial cells, whereas at higher concentrations, the mode of action shifted toward membrane disruption. The Ψ-capsids killed cells by disrupting their membranes at all concentrations tested. Finally, at increasing concentrations, ampicillin and Ψ-capsids reduced the fraction of the population that survived treatment in a viable but nonculturable state, whereas ciprofloxacin increased this fraction. This study introduces an effective capability to differentiate the killing kinetics of antibacterial agents from different molecular classes and offers a high content analysis of antibacterial mechanisms at the single-cell level. IMPORTANCE Antibiotics act against bacterial pathogens by inhibiting their growth or killing them directly. Different modes of action determine different antibacterial responses, whereas phenotypic differences in bacteria can challenge the efficacy of antibiotics. Therefore, it is important to be able to differentiate the concentration-dependent killing kinetics of antibacterial agents at a single-cell level, in particular for molecular classes which have not yielded an antibiotic before. Here, we measured single-cell responses using microfluidics-enabled imaging, revealing that a novel class of antibacterial agents, protein Ψ-capsids, arrests bacterial elongation at the onset of treatment, whereas elongation continues for cells treated with β-lactam and fluoroquinolone antibiotics. The study advances our current understanding of antibacterial function and offers an effective strategy for the comparative design of new antibacterial therapies, as well as clinical antibiotic susceptibility testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuewen Zhang
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, United Kingdom
| | - Ibolya Kepiro
- National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, United Kingdom
| | - Maxim G. Ryadnov
- National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stefano Pagliara
- Living Systems Institute and Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
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5
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Fletcher M, Zhu J, Rubio-Sánchez R, Sandler SE, Nahas KA, Michele LD, Keyser UF, Tivony R. DNA-Based Optical Quantification of Ion Transport across Giant Vesicles. ACS NANO 2022; 16:17128-17138. [PMID: 36222833 PMCID: PMC9620405 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c07496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Accurate measurements of ion permeability through cellular membranes remains challenging due to the lack of suitable ion-selective probes. Here we use giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) as membrane models for the direct visualization of mass translocation at the single-vesicle level. Ion transport is indicated with a fluorescently adjustable DNA-based sensor that accurately detects sub-millimolar variations in K+ concentration. In combination with microfluidics, we employed our DNA-based K+ sensor for extraction of the permeation coefficient of potassium ions. We measured K+ permeability coefficients at least 1 order of magnitude larger than previously reported values from bulk experiments and show that permeation rates across the lipid bilayer increase in the presence of octanol. In addition, an analysis of the K+ flux in different concentration gradients allows us to estimate the complementary H+ flux that dissipates the charge imbalance across the GUV membrane. Subsequently, we show that our sensor can quantify the K+ transport across prototypical cation-selective ion channels, gramicidin A and OmpF, revealing their relative H+/K+ selectivity. Our results show that gramicidin A is much more selective to protons than OmpF with a H+/K+ permeability ratio of ∼104.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Fletcher
- Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, CambridgeCB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Jinbo Zhu
- Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, CambridgeCB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Roger Rubio-Sánchez
- Department
of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, LondonW12 0BZ, U.K.
- fabriCELL,
Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial
College London, LondonW12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Sarah E Sandler
- Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, CambridgeCB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Kareem Al Nahas
- Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, CambridgeCB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Lorenzo Di Michele
- Department
of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, LondonW12 0BZ, U.K.
- fabriCELL,
Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial
College London, LondonW12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - Ulrich F Keyser
- Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, CambridgeCB3 0HE, U.K.
| | - Ran Tivony
- Cavendish
Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, CambridgeCB3 0HE, U.K.
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6
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Al Nahas K, Fletcher M, Hammond K, Nehls C, Cama J, Ryadnov MG, Keyser UF. Measuring Thousands of Single-Vesicle Leakage Events Reveals the Mode of Action of Antimicrobial Peptides. Anal Chem 2022; 94:9530-9539. [PMID: 35760038 PMCID: PMC9280716 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c03564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Host defense or antimicrobial
peptides hold promise for providing
new pipelines of effective antimicrobial agents. Their activity quantified
against model phospholipid membranes is fundamental to a detailed
understanding of their structure–activity relationships. However,
classical characterization assays often lack the ability to achieve
this insight. Leveraging a highly parallelized microfluidic platform
for trapping and studying thousands of giant unilamellar vesicles,
we conducted quantitative long-term microscopy studies to monitor
the membrane-disruptive activity of archetypal antimicrobial peptides
with a high spatiotemporal resolution. We described the modes of action
of these peptides via measurements of the disruption of the vesicle
population under the conditions of continuous peptide dosing using
a range of concentrations and related the observed modes to the molecular
activity mechanisms of these peptides. The study offers an effective
approach for characterizing membrane-targeting antimicrobial agents
in a standardized manner and for assigning specific modes of action
to the corresponding antimicrobial mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kareem Al Nahas
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K
| | - Marcus Fletcher
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K
| | - Katharine Hammond
- National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington TW11 0LW, U.K.,London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, U.K
| | - Christian Nehls
- Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Parkallee 10, Borstel 23845, Germany
| | - Jehangir Cama
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K.,Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QD, U.K.,College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QF, U.K
| | - Maxim G Ryadnov
- National Physical Laboratory, Hampton Road, Teddington TW11 0LW, U.K.,Department of Physics, King's College London, Strand Lane, London WC2R 2LS, U.K
| | - Ulrich F Keyser
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J.J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, U.K
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7
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Łapińska U, Voliotis M, Lee KK, Campey A, Stone MRL, Tuck B, Phetsang W, Zhang B, Tsaneva-Atanasova K, Blaskovich MAT, Pagliara S. Fast bacterial growth reduces antibiotic accumulation and efficacy. eLife 2022; 11:74062. [PMID: 35670099 PMCID: PMC9173744 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic variations between individual microbial cells play a key role in the resistance of microbial pathogens to pharmacotherapies. Nevertheless, little is known about cell individuality in antibiotic accumulation. Here, we hypothesise that phenotypic diversification can be driven by fundamental cell-to-cell differences in drug transport rates. To test this hypothesis, we employed microfluidics-based single-cell microscopy, libraries of fluorescent antibiotic probes and mathematical modelling. This approach allowed us to rapidly identify phenotypic variants that avoid antibiotic accumulation within populations of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia, and Staphylococcus aureus. Crucially, we found that fast growing phenotypic variants avoid macrolide accumulation and survive treatment without genetic mutations. These findings are in contrast with the current consensus that cellular dormancy and slow metabolism underlie bacterial survival to antibiotics. Our results also show that fast growing variants display significantly higher expression of ribosomal promoters before drug treatment compared to slow growing variants. Drug-free active ribosomes facilitate essential cellular processes in these fast-growing variants, including efflux that can reduce macrolide accumulation. We used this new knowledge to eradicate variants that displayed low antibiotic accumulation through the chemical manipulation of their outer membrane inspiring new avenues to overcome current antibiotic treatment failures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Urszula Łapińska
- Living Systems Institute, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Biosciences, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
| | - Margaritis Voliotis
- Living Systems Institute, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Department of Mathematics, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
| | - Ka Kiu Lee
- Living Systems Institute, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Biosciences, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
| | - Adrian Campey
- Living Systems Institute, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Biosciences, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
| | - M Rhia L Stone
- Centre for Superbug Solutions, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, the State University of New JerseyPiscatawayUnited States
| | - Brandon Tuck
- Living Systems Institute, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Biosciences, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
| | - Wanida Phetsang
- Centre for Superbug Solutions, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Bing Zhang
- Centre for Superbug Solutions, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova
- Living Systems Institute, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Department of Mathematics, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- EPSRC Hub for Quantitative Modelling in Healthcare, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Department of Bioinformatics and Mathematical Modelling, Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of SciencesSofiaBulgaria
| | - Mark AT Blaskovich
- Centre for Superbug Solutions, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Stefano Pagliara
- Living Systems Institute, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
- Biosciences, University of ExeterExeterUnited Kingdom
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