We can only get folate, an important B vitamin, from food or supplements, but bacteria can make it themselves. Recently, researchers at Johns Hopkins University identified a long-sought enzyme that completes our scientific understanding of folate production in E. coli bacteria and offers a possible new target for antibiotic medications.
This image, created by Hopkins-trained medical illustrator Devon Stuart, depicts a key part of the process from left to right.
The salmon-colored image represents the newly identified enzyme.
Copyright 2007 Devon Stuart, Devon Medical Art, LLC.