What is it about?
The spread of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens is inciting a global public health crisis. Drug-resistant Staphylococcus species, particularly Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, have emerged in both hospital and community settings, underscoring the urgent need for new strategies to combat staphylococcal infections. Viruses that prey specifically on these organisms (staphylococcal phages) and the enzymes that they use to degrade bacterial cell walls (lysins) show promise as alternatives to conventional antibiotics; however, only a limited variety of staphylococcal phages and their lysins have yet been characterized. Here, we report the discovery of a novel staphylococcal phage named Andhra, and we show that two of its lysins inhibit growth and degrade the cell walls of drug-resistant S. aureus and S. epidermidis strains.
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Why is it important?
Staphylococcus species, particularly S. epidermidis and S. aureus, are leading causes of antibiotic-resistant infections. Phage Andhra and its unique lysins add to the arsenal of antimicrobials with potential for therapeutic use.
Perspectives
Andhra is the first characterized S. epidermidis phage belonging to the family Podoviridae. Thus, in addition to identifying new anti-staphylococcal agents, our findings also reveal insights into the biology of a rare family of staphylococcal phages.
Dr. Asma Hatoum-Aslan
University of Alabama
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A Novel Staphylococcus Podophage Encodes a Unique Lysin with Unusual Modular Design, mSphere, March 2017, ASM Journals,
DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00040-17.
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