Creative lysins: Listeria and the engineering of antimicrobial enzymes

- Recombinant lytic enzymes have several advantages over bacteriophage treatments.
- Types and sources of binding and catalytic domains greatly impact lysin efficacy.
- Viral enzymes and bacterial autolysins offer diverse reservoirs for recombination.
- Lysins hold promise for being tailored to specific applications with careful design.
- Enzyme architecture, cell physiology, and environment are key design considerations.