Rifamycin antibiotics attack tuberculosis bacteria with walls, not signals

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Hitting a wall. By binding next to RNA polymerases active center (pink) the potent class of antibiotics called rifamycins (red and yellow) prevents deadly bacterial RNA from elongating.
Hitting a wall. By binding next to RNA polymerase’s active center (pink), the potent class of antibiotics called rifamycins (red and yellow) prevents deadly bacterial RNA from elongating.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Amid concerns about the rising number of new tuberculosis cases worldwide, researchers led by Rockefeller University’s Seth A. Darst have reexamined and disproved a theory that describes how a potent class of antibiotics kills a deadly form of bacteria. The findings, which will appear in this week’s online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, not only bring scientists closer to understanding how these antibiotics work but also how the bacteria become resistant to their effects.


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