Antisense oligomers directed to bacterial 
cell division and 
cell cycle-encoding nucleic acids are capable of selectively modulating the 
biological activity thereof, and are useful in treatment and prevention of bacterial infection. The antisense oligomers are substantially uncharged, and contain from 8 to 40 
nucleotide subunits, including a targeting 
nucleic acid sequence at least 10 nucleotides in length which is effective to hybridize to (i) a bacterial tRNA or (ii) a target sequence, containing a translational 
start codon, within a 
bacterial nucleic acid which encodes a 
protein associated with 
cell division or the 
cell cycle. Such proteins include zipA, sulA, secA, dicA, dicB, dicC, dicF, ftsA, ftsI, ftsN, ftsK, ftsL, ftsQ, ftsW, 
ftsZ, murC, murD, murE, murF, murG, minC, minD, minE, mraY, mraW, mraZ, seqA, ddlB, 
carbamate kinase, D-ala D-ala ligase, 
topoisomerase, 
alkyl hydroperoxide 
reductase, 
thioredoxin reductase, 
dihydrofolate reductase, and 
cell wall enzyme.