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 non-therapeutic 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.

中文翻译：

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扩大细胞壁裂解酶应用的机会。

摘要

鉴于新出现的抗生素抗性，细菌细胞壁溶解酶是有前途的抗菌剂，可降解细菌肽聚糖，同时特异性识别靶细菌。裂解酶对几种感染人类的​​多药耐药病原体的功效已导致许多致力于体内治疗应用的努力。但是，在人体以外的环境中，裂解酶与细菌污染作斗争的潜力尚未得到开发。浮游生物或生物膜状态以及各种表面上的致病细菌的持续存在促进了细菌感染的扩散，因此有必要开发出强有力的策略来检测和杀死在各种环境中的耐药细菌。这里，

关键点

•裂解酶是有效的抗菌剂，抗生物膜和杀孢子剂。

•使用裂解酶结合域的病原体检测快速且高度灵敏。

•在复杂环境中增强酶活性需要进行域工程设计。