AI helps provide the most complete map of interactions key to bacterial survival

UAB researchers have produced the most complete map of the bacterial essential interactome, that is, how proteins combine and interact to perform functions essential for their survival. The research, published in the journal eLife, used the artificial intelligence tool AlphaFold to predict and model more than 1,400 interactions. The results have revealed previously unknown details of these mechanisms and offer potential targets for the development of new antibiotics.