Targeting Protein Synthesis in \u3ci\u3eClostridioides difficile\u3c/i\u3e to Develop Antimicrobial Candidate

Clostridioides difficile is a gram positive, spore forming, obligate anaerobic bacterium that causes Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) which can result in pseudomembranous colitis and toxic megacolon. In the case of this research a focus on Protein synthesis is made since it is an essential metabolic process and is a validated target for antibiotics. Protein synthesis begins with Initiation which includes the three translation initiation factors. Through the NMR chemical shift assignments, the IF1 structure was determined, and it was found to be composed of a short α helix and five β helixes. A peptide was designed after the short α helix to test for inhibitory effects against gram positive bacteria using a Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) Assay. From the MIC Assays the IF1 peptide showed an inhibitory affect against the bacteria tested which can aide in the process of drug discovery