Identification of Novel Inhibitors of DNA Ligase (LigA).

Present in all organisms, DNA ligases catalyse the formation of a phosphodiester bond between a 3' hydroxyl and a 5' phosphate, a reaction that is essential for maintaining genome integrity during replication and repair. Eubacterial DNA ligases use NAD as a cofactor and possess low sequence and structural homology relative to eukaryotic DNA ligases which use ATP as a cofactor. These key differences enable specific targeting of bacterial DNA ligases as an antibacterial strategy.