Bacteriophage Lysin Has Antibiologic Warfare Potential

The lysin, which the investigators have called PlyPH, was described in the April 2006 issue of the Journal of Bacteriology.

That PlyPH is active under both acid and basic conditions suggests that it may useful as an antibiologic warfare agent. "PlyPH works in an extremely wide pH range, from as low as four to as high as eight,” said senior author Dr. Vince Fischetti, professor of bacterial pathogenesis and immunology at Rockefeller University (New York, NY, USA). "I do not know of any other lytic enzyme that has such a broad range of activity.”

PlyPH's extreme specificity means that it may be used freely in the environment with no deleterious effects on beneficial microorganisms. "This feature, and the wide pH range offered by PlyPH, is why we think it could be used as an environmental decontaminant, said Dr. Fischetti.”



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