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Sandaru Ileperuma

@sandaru-ileperuma.bsky.social
16 followers 16 following 0 posts

PhD student in Dr. Justin Di Trani’s lab at the University of Alberta -180 °C enthusiast ❄️🥶

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Reposted by Sandaru Ileperuma
John Rubinstein @johnrubinstein.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
After two days in the beautiful new SickKids Patient Support Centre, the first @sickkidsto.bsky.social @structurabio.bsky.social CryoSPARC workshop is now in the books! Outstanding teaching by Rich Waldo from Structura, and logistics by Samir Benlekbir (SickKids) and Saara Virani (Structura).
A classroom of cryo-EM scientists, their brains recently filled with the latest and greatest methods for cryo-EM image analysis.Rich explains the finer points of analyzing flexible protein structures with cryoSPARC
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Reposted by Sandaru Ileperuma
Justin Di Trani @justinditrani.bsky.social · 28/02/2026
In the first preprint from the lab, @sandaru-ileperuma.bsky.social demonstrates that the P. aeruginosa NQR complex supports virulence factors and identifies inhibitors of this complex. He also uncovered some interesting NQR dynamics controlled at the substrate binding site. tinyurl.com/yush599n
tinyurl.com
Discovery of inhibitors of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (NQR) that hinder virulence factors
The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance has created an urgent need to identify novel therapeutic targets in bacteria. The NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (NQR) is a potential target in a number of bacteria that transfers electrons from NADH to ubiquinone while pumping ions from the cytoplasm to the periplasm. In most species, this complex pumps sodium ions, whereas in Pseudomonas aeruginosa it pumps protons, thereby functioning as a member of the electron transport chain. Using a strain of PAO1 with the NQR knocked out, we demonstrate that the NQR complex plays a crucial role in the motility and biofilm development virulence factors in P. aeruginosa. We develop and execute a high-throughput inhibitor screen to identify and confirm compounds that inhibit NADH oxidation by this complex. Using single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM), we determine high-resolution structures of the NQR complex, both inhibitor-free and bound to one of the confirmed hits from our screen, demonstrating that it binds to the ubiquinone binding site. These structures provide insight into conformational dynamics controlled by binding at the ubiquinone site, with potential implications for the coupling between electron transfer and proton pumping in this complex. Biofilm development and motility assays with selected compounds from the screen show that they affect these virulence factors similarly to the NQR knockout. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Cystic Fibrosis Canada, https://ror.org/05b6dcx13 LKSIoV and University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry Startup funding Striving for Pandemic Preparedness – The Alberta Research Consortium Canada Research Chairs Canadian Institutes of Health Research, https://ror.org/01gavpb45 LKSIoV Research Support and Innovation Grant
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