Researchers at the University of Liverpool have discovered how pathogenic bacteria construct protein-based compartments known as ethanolamine utilization (Eut) microcompartments, which are essential for breaking down ethanolamine (EA), a nutrient abundant in the gut. The research, published in Science Advances , details how the Eut microcompartments enable bacteria to digest ethanolamine to give them a competitive advantage over commensal microbes, fostering bacterial growth and virulence.

“It was known that bacteria build these compartments to safely and efficiently digest ethanolamine, but our research reveals the precise molecular steps involved,” said the study’s first author Mengru Yang, PhD, a researcher at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integr

See Full Page