Phage lytic proteins: biotechnological applications beyond clinical antimicrobials

Most bacteriophages encode two types of cell wall lytic proteins: endolysins (lysins) and virion-associated peptidoglycan hydrolases. Both enzymes have the ability to degrade the peptidoglycan of Gram-positive bacteria resulting in cell lysis when they are applied externally. Bacteriophage lytic proteins have a demonstrated potential in treating animal models of infectious diseases. There has also been an increase in the study of these lytic proteins for their application in areas such as food safety, pathogen detection/diagnosis, surfaces disinfection, vaccine development and nanotechnology. This review summarizes the more recent developments, outlines the full potential of these proteins to develop new biotechnological tools and discusses the feasibility of these proposals.     

提高噬菌体裂解酶抗菌活性的研究进展

随着细菌耐药性问题的日益严重,人们开始寻求新型抗菌制剂。噬菌体裂解酶是一种由ds DNA噬菌体编码的水解酶,能高效特异性地裂解细菌细胞壁且不易使细菌产生耐药性。由于天然裂解酶具有宿主谱窄,不能裂解革兰阴性菌等缺点,研究者对裂解酶进行了大量的设计改造。本研究主要对提高噬菌体裂解酶抗菌活性的研究进展进行综述。