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RESEARCH
Dr. Wenyi Li is a Senior Lecturer and NHMRC Investigator (Emerging Leadership Level 1) in the development of antimicrobials to combat nosocomial infections by using his chemical biology expertise and skillset at the Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. By fostering an active collaborative research network, Dr Li has obtained several outstanding successful grants of a total of >$2 million, including 1 NHMRC Investigator EL1 grant, CIA Ramaciotti Health Investment Grant and 1 CIE NHMRC Ideas Grant. In recognition of the young scientist's excellent contribution to peptide sciences, Dr Li recently received the most prestigious Rennie Memorial Medal from the Royal Australia Chemical Institute (RACI, 2024), Young Investigator Award (Pharmaceuticals, 2025) and a Young Peptide Scientist Award from the Chinese Peptide Society (2023). Dr Li has served as an expert reviewer for several funding systems, such as NHMRC and HFSP, and as the associate editor of the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. In addition to his research, Wenyi is currently serving as the President-Elect of the Victorian Branch of RACI.
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“One quote that I find particularly inspiring comes from the renowned physicist Enrico Fermi: 'There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.' For me, this quote deeply highlights the value of both validation and unexpected findings in research, reminding me that progress is made not only through success but also by the unknown/failure.”
— Dr. Wenyi Li
Contact
Address
La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science
Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry
La Trobe University | Bundoora, Victoria | 3086 | Australia
Email
wenyi.li@latrobe.edu.au
Phone
+61 (03) 9479 6336
Aggregation of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) enhances their efficacy by destabilising the bacterial cell wall, membrane, and cytosolic proteins. Developing aggregation-prone AMPs offers a promising strategy to combat antibiotic resistance, though predicting such AMPs and understanding bacterial responses remain challenging. Octopus bimaculoides, a cephalopod species, lacks known AMP gene families, yet its protein fragments were used to predict AMPs via artificial intelligence tools. Four peptides (Oct-P1, Oct-P2, Oct-P3, and Oct-P4) were identified based on their aggregation propensity. Among them, Oct-P2 reduced the viability of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by up to 90%, confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It further aggregated plasmid DNA in vitro, and the presence of extracellular DNA reduced their antibacterial activity. With knockout mutants, it revealed that Oct-P2 was internalised into bacterial cells, possibly through membrane transport proteins, enhancing its antibacterial effect. Aggregation-induced emission assays and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that Oct-P2 aggregates with transcription promoter DNA, inhibiting transcription and translation in vitro. This dual-target mechanism not only highlights the potential of Oct-P2 as a lead template for new antimicrobial drug development, but also opens a new window for discovering AMPs from protein fragments against the upcoming challenge of bacterial infections.