An engineered R-type pyocin is a highly specific and sensitive bactericidal agent for the food-borne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7.

ABSTRACT: Some strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa produce R-type pyocins, which are high-molecular-weight phage tail-like protein complexes that have bactericidal activity against other Pseudomonas strains. These particles recognize and bind to bacterial surface structures via tail fibers, their primary spectrum determinant. R-type pyocins kill the cell by contracting a sheath-like structure and inserting their hollow core through the cell envelope, resulting in dissipation of the cellular membrane potential. We have retargeted an R-type pyocin to Escherichia coli O157:H7 by fusing a tail spike protein from an O157-specific phage, phiV10, to the pyocin tail fiber. The phiV10 tail spike protein recognizes and degrades the O157 lipopolysaccharide. This engineered pyocin, termed AVR2-V10, is sensitive a

SUBMITTER: Scholl D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2704633 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature