The project is being led by the University of Birmingham, and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, through its Strategic Longer and Larger (sLoLa) grants scheme.

Understanding how bacteria control how drugs enter their cells in different conditions is a fundamental question for microbiology. With the increasing global threat of antimicrobial resistance, it’s important that we understand this better as one crucial way bacteria evolve resistance is to prevent antibiotic uptake and accumulation.

This new project, ‘Understanding the rules of impermeability in Gram negative bacteria’, explores how antibiotics penetrate the outer defences of bacteria.

By uncovering how infection conditions influence antibiotic uptake, the team aims to open new avenues for developing more effective treatments and diagnostics.

The Quadram team are contributing to this sLoLa by using our technologies and expertise to identify the bacterial genes involved in antibiotic uptake. This builds on our long-term interests in studying bacterial behaviour and antimicrobial resistance.

Professor Mark Webber, who is leading the Quadram effort in this project said: “We are hugely excited to be part of this award, which will deliver fundamental new knowledge about a super important aspect of bacterial biology.”

“The work complements other projects underway at the institute and will help in the ongoing battle against antimicrobial resistance.”

Led by Jessica Blair from the University of Birmingham, the core team consists of Sara Jabbari and Tim Overton (University of Birmingham), Andrew Edwards (Imperial college London), Mark Webber (Quadram Institute Bioscience) and Dong-Hyun Kim (University of Nottingham).

This is one of four world-class teams that have been awarded major BBSRC sLoLa grants, through a total investment of over £20million, to deepen our understanding of the fundamental processes of life including microbiology, photosynthesis, gene regulation and quantum biology.

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, BBSRC Executive Chair, said: “Long-term investments through our sLoLa scheme brings researchers with different expertise together to collaboratively pursue questions whose answers may reshape our understanding of the living world.”