| dc.description.abstract | The use of bacteriophages offers an appealing alternative to antibiotics for the control of pathogenic bacteria. Recently, bacteriophage AbauYa1 was isolated as part of an effort to find phages to combat Acinetobacter baumannii infections. In addition to causing lysis of the host cell, AbauYa1 depolymerizes the polysaccharides of the A. baumannii capsules. The A. baumannii capsule is an important virulence factor, and phage depolymerases have been shown to disrupt biofilms of other pathogenic bacterial strains. The gene encoding the protein responsible for this activity was cloned, and the protein was expressed, purified, and enzymatically assayed. The protein was found to degrade the polysaccharide capsule, as shown by an increase in reducing ends upon incubating the capsule with the depolymerase. Finally, the protein removes A. baumannii biofilms from a polystyrene surface. The protein degrades A. baumannii capsule and biofilms and therefore carries high therapeutic potential for treating A. baumannii infections. | en |
