Award
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 1F32AI197474-01
Regulation of amidase activity during spore development
Recipient
Tufts University
Award Amount
$75,880.00
Ceiling
$75,880.00
Awarded
March 30, 2026
Identifier
1F32AI197474-01
Award to Tufts University by NIAID for research on the regulation of amidase activity during spore development in Clostridioides difficile, aiming to understand CwlD activation and develop therapies to prevent disease transmission.
Description
This project aims to determine the molecular mechanisms underlying CwlD activation, localization, and coordination during spore development in Clostridioides difficile. Approaches include genetic, biochemical, and structural methods to identify key regions regulating CwlD binding to Zn²⁺, mutagenesis and fluorescence microscopy to study localization, and high-throughput in silico screening combined with co-immunoprecipitation to identify CwlD partners. The goal is to develop anti-spore germination therapies to prevent disease transmission.