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In research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, scientists from Monash University, Rockefeller University, and the University of Maryland detail how the bacteriophage lysin, PlyC, kills bacteria that cause infections from sore throats, pneumonia, and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.

Bacteriophages—viruses that specifically infect and kill bacteria using special proteins called lysins—have been investigated as possible treatments since 1919. However, with the discovery of antibiotics in the 1940s, ‘phage therapy’ was generally abandoned.

In collaboration with Professor Vince Fischetti at Rockefeller and Dan Nelson at Maryland, Monash researchers Professor James Whisstock, Associate Professor Ashley Buckle, and Sheena McGowan from the School of Biomedical Sciences have spent the last six years deciphering the atomic structure of PlyC, to better understand its remarkable anti-bacterial properties.

McGowan says PlyC looks a little like a spaceship.

“PlyC is actually made from nine separate protein ‘parts’ that assemble to form a very effective bacterial killing machine. It actually resembles a flying saucer carrying two warheads,” says McGowan.

“It operates by locking onto the bacterial surface using eight separate docking sites located on one face of the saucer. The two warheads can then chew through the surface of the cell, rapidly killing the bacteria.”

Buckle says the PlyC, which attacks the streptococci bacteria, was a very promising target for the future development of new drugs.

“PlyC, in its purified form, has been shown to be 100 times more efficient at killing certain bacteria than any other lysin to date—even faster than household bleach,” says Buckle.

First identified in 1925, PlyC was purified in the 1960s by Professor Fischetti, but its atomic structure proved elusive until now.

“Scientists have been trying to decipher the structure of PlyC for more than 40 years. Finally knowing what it looks like, and how it attacks bacteria, is a huge step forward,” McGowan says.

More news from Monash University: www.monash.edu.au/news/