Opportunities for broadening the application of cell wall lytic enzymes
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MINI-REVIEW
Opportunities for broadening the application of cell wall lytic enzymes Amala Bhagwat 1 & Monica Mixon 1 & Cynthia H. Collins 1 & Jonathan S. Dordick 1 Received: 20 June 2020 / Revised: 14 August 2020 / Accepted: 26 August 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In light of emerging antibiotic resistance, bacterial cell wall lytic enzymes are promising antimicrobial agents that degrade bacterial peptidoglycan while specifically recognizing the target bacterium. The efficacy of lytic enzymes against several multi-drug-resistant pathogens infecting humans has led to many efforts focused on in vivo therapeutic applications. However, the potential for lytic enzymes to combat bacterial contamination in environments outside the human body is underexplored. The persistence of pathogenic bacteria, in either planktonic or biofilm states and on various surfaces, has facilitated the spread of bacterial infections, necessitating the development of robust strategies for detecting and killing resistant bacteria in diverse environments. Here, we present an overview of the current state-of-the-art of exploiting lytic enzymes for nontherapeutic applications including pathogen decontamination in social infrastructures and food decontamination, as well as pathogen detection. Key points • Lytic enzymes are effective antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and sporicidal agents. • Pathogen detection using lytic enzyme–binding domains is rapid and highly sensitive. • Domain engineering is required for enhanced enzyme activity in complex environments. Keywords Antibiotic resistance . Lytic enzymes . Phage endolysins . Bacteriolysins . Surface decontamination
Introduction The development of new bactericidal agents is a critical need due to the steady rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections throughout the world. According to the 2019 AR Threats Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 35,000 people die annually in the USA due to antibiotic-resistant infections. Contact with contaminated food, water, animals, or abiotic surfaces in social infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, transportation and the
* Cynthia H. Collins [email protected] Jonathan S. Dordick [email protected] 1
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
workplace, can lead to transmission of pathogenic bacteria and result in infections. For example, a majority of nosocomial infections occur as a result of contact with surfaces colonized by resistant microbial biofilms (Jamal et al. 2018). Interaction of bacteria with surfaces of varied compositions causes changes in their gene expression profiles, thereby influencing bacterial surface adhesion, motility, and metabolism, enabling the bacteria to survive for extended periods on host tissues, metals, plastics, cloths, etc. (Tuson and Weibel 2013). Therefore, mitigation of bacterial infections and surface contaminations must
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