Anti-mycobacterial activity of phage-encoded lysterases.

Six mycobacteriophage-encoded lysterases exhibit broad-spectrum activity, reducing M. abscessus viability by up to six orders of magnitude within 4 hours.

• Why it matters: M. abscessus infections are difficult to treat due to high antibiotic resistance and variability in phage infection profiles, creating a need for alternative therapies.
• What they did: Researchers purified and characterized six distinct lysterases on M. smegmatis and tested their activity against 24 clinical M. abscessus strains, assessing their bactericidal effects and synergy with amikacin.
• The result: Most lysterases demonstrated potent, broad-spectrum activity with minor variations, suggesting their potential for topical antimycobacterial applications and combination therapy with existing antibiotics.