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Published on: October 3, 2019
Retargeting R-type pyocins to generate novel bactericidal protein complexes
Steven R Williams1, Dana Gebhart, David W Martin
1AvidBiotics Corporation, 385 Oyster Point Blvd., Suite 6A, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
Researchers engineered R-type pyocins, potent antimicrobials, by modifying their tail fibers. This retargeting broadens their antibacterial spectrum, offering a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics with minimal impact on beneficial bacteria.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- R-type pyocins are bacteriocins with bacteriophage-like structures produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- They exhibit potent, single-hit bactericidal activity by disrupting bacterial membrane potential.
- Limited antibacterial spectra of natural pyocins hinder clinical application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer R-type pyocins with altered and broadened antibacterial spectra.
- To investigate the role of tail fibers in determining pyocin specificity.
- To explore the potential of engineered pyocins as novel antimicrobial agents.
Main Methods:
- Modification of R-type pyocin tail fibers by replacing or fusing with tail fibers from different bacteriophages.
- Testing the bactericidal activity of engineered pyocins against various bacterial strains.
- Analysis of pyocin assembly requirements, including specific chaperones.
Main Results:
- Replacing R2 pyocin tail fibers with those from Pseudomonas phage PS17 altered specificity to a different P. aeruginosa subset.
- Fusing R2 tail fibers with those from phages infecting E. coli and Y. pestis extended pyocin host range.
- Engineered pyocins maintained narrow spectra, minimizing collateral damage to microbiota.
Conclusions:
- Tail fiber engineering is a viable strategy to retarget R-type pyocins.
- Engineered pyocins exhibit broadened host ranges and retain desirable narrow-spectrum properties.
- These modified pyocins represent a potential new class of antimicrobials against specific bacterial pathogens.
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