FOOD SCIENCE ›› 2021, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (23): 315-324.doi: 10.7506/spkx1002-6630-20200803-038

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Structural Characteristics and Recombination Strategies of Phage Lysins and Their Application in Controlling Foodborne Pathogens

HUANG Zhenhua, ZHANG Zhaohuan, TONG Jinrong, WU Qian, LIU Jing, LIU Haiquan, PAN Yingjie, ZHAO Yong   

  1. (1. College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; 2. College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; 3. Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Aquatic Products on Storage and Preservation (Shanghai), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai 201306, China; 4. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquatic-Product Processing & Preservation, Shanghai 201306, China)
  • Online:2021-12-15 Published:2021-12-29

Abstract: Continuous outbreaks of foodborne diseases worldwide and the widespread prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria have posed a great threat to food safety and human health. Hence, new technologies to kill and control foodborne pathogens urgently need to be developed. Phage lysins are active proteins released by most lytic phages during the lysis period that can effectively lyse the cell wall of the host and have been shown to be able to control the risk of foodborne pathogens in all links along the food supply chain. Natural lysins had many advantages such as high host specificity, strong lytic activity, green nature, good safety and antibiotic susceptibility and are capable of eradicating bacterial biofilms. Importantly, lysins have modular structures that can be recombined by protein engineering to enhance their cleavage activity, stability and targeting performance. This review systematically describes the modular structural characteristics and active sites of phage lysins, discusses the recombination strategies of lysins and summarizes the recent progress in the application of natural lysins to control foodborne pathogens, and it also presents an outlook into the future application of lysins in the food industry. Hopefully, phage lysins can provide a novel strategy to control foodborne pathogens and their antibiotic resistance.

Key words: phage lyases; foodborne pathogens; antibiotic resistance; structure characteristics; recombination strategies

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