LYSIN

Lysin

Lysins, also known as endolysins or murein hydrolases, are hydrolytic enzymes produced by bacteriophages in order to cleave the host's cell wall during the final stage of the lytic cycle. Lysins are highly evolved enzymes that are able to target one of the five bonds in peptidoglycan, the main component of bacterial cell walls, which allows the release of progeny virions from the lysed cell. These enzymes are being used as antibacterial agents due to their high effectiveness and specificity in comparison with antibiotics, which are susceptible to bacterial resistance.

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lysin

Noun

  1. any substance or antibody that can cause the destruction (by lysis) of blood cells, bacteria etc


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: lysin
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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