‘It was very surreal,’ UNC Asheville researchers make a discovery in drug

Key Points:

• A research team at UNC Asheville discovered a vulnerability in the enzyme YqeK used by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), potentially leading to a new method to combat the bacteria by weakening its virulence rather than killing it directly.
• The four-year undergraduate-led project, headed by Associate Professor Melinda R. Grosser and involving a dozen students, was published in the Journal of Bacteriology on August 20, highlighting how disabling YqeK reduces the bacteria’s ability to cause severe infections.
• Targeting this enzyme could prevent the bacteria from developing resistance, as the approach focuses on disarming rather than killing MRSA, offering an alternative to traditional antibiotics and addressing the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance.
• Students Jenna Vidaud and Garrett Davidson, key contributors to the research, gained valuable experience and recognition, with Vidaud receiving first-author credit and Davidson planning to continue the work in his senior thesis.
• Grosser is seeking further funding to advance the research and explore its potential application in developing new treatments for drug-resistant bacterial infections.