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Updated: May 7, 2026

Mechanical Separation and Protein Solubilization of the Outer and Inner Perivitelline Sublayers from Hen's Eggs
Published on: January 27, 2021
Hen egg white lysozyme permeabilizes Escherichia coli outer and inner membranes
Melanie Derde1, Valérie Lechevalier, Catherine Guérin-Dubiard
1Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1253 Science et technologie du lait et de l'œuf, 65 rue de St-Brieuc, F-35042 Rennes, France.
Abstract:
Natural preservatives answer the consumer demand for long shelf life foods, synthetic molecules being perceived as a health risk. Lysozyme is already used because of its muramidase activity against Gram-positive bacteria. It is also described as active against some Gram-negative bacteria; membrane disruption would be involved, but the mechanism remains unknown. In this study, a spectrophotometric method using the mutant Escherichia coli ML-35p has been adapted to investigate membrane disruption by lysozyme for long durations. Lysozyme rapidly increases the permeability of the outer membrane of E. coli due to large size pore formation. A direct delayed activity of lysozyme against the inner membrane is also demonstrated, but without evidence of perforations.
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