A novel phage putative depolymerase, Depo16, has specific activity against K1 capsular-type <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>.

ABSTRACT: Klebsiella pneumoniae, especially hypervirulent K. pneumoniae (hvKP), is a common opportunistic pathogen that often causes hospital- and community-acquired infections. Capsular polysaccharide (CPS) is an important virulence factor of K. pneumoniae. Some phages encode depolymerases that can recognize and degrade bacterial polysaccharides. In this study, the lytic bacteriophage vB_KpnP_ZK1 (abbreviated as ZK1) was isolated using serotype K1 hvKP as the host. Although amino acid sequence BLAST analysis indicated that the tail fiber protein Depo16 of phage ZK1 showed no significant similarity to any reported phage depolymerases, it displayed enzymatic activities that are characteristic of phage depolymerases. After expression and purification, Depo16 could efficiently remo

SUBMITTER: Zhao R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11022553 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature