Staphylococcus Lugdunensis Hypothetical Glycosyl Hydrolase

Reference #:

2007-079

Inventors/Contributors

Robin Patel M.D., Kristi L. Frank

Description

The Staphylococcus lugdunensis hypothetical glycosyl hydrolase is the predicted gene product of an open reading frame that was identified while sequencing a previously unsequenced area of the S. lugdunensis genome for an unrelated project. The sequence of the translated open reading frame is 344 amino acids long and contains a putative conserved domain that closely resembles theglycosyl hydrolase family 20 catalytic domain and a group of known N-acetyle-beta-hexosaminidases. The hypothetical glycosyl hydrolase is most closely reatled to homologous N-acetyl-beta-hexosaminidases found in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Actinobacillus Actinomycetemcomitans called dispersin B (also called dspB). Dispersin B has been shown to cleave the Beta-1,6-linkages of N-acetyl-glucosamine polymers, which are a common component of biofilm matrices of many bacterial species. Bacteria growing in biofilms, a surface-attached mode of growth that renders matrix-encased bacteria resistant to traditional antimicrobial therapies ad host immune defenses, are thought to be involved in greater than 60% of all bacterial infections, and so represent a major health problem. The ability of dispersin B to enzymatically cleave residues in the biofilm matrix has been shown to lead to detachment of bacterial biofilms with N-acetylglucosamine matrices, thus giving it potential therapeutic applications The similarity between dispersin B and the S. lugdunensis hypothetical glycosyl hydrolase suggests that this new hypothetical enzyme holds promise to be recombinantly purified, tested, and developed as potential therapeutic for abroad range of biofilm-associated bacterial infections. Further applications may include the use of the S. lugdunensis hypothetical glycosyl hydrolase for research and diagnostic purposes.

Patent Status

Pending