PlyB is a bacteriophage endolysin that displays potent lytic activity toward Bacillus anthracis. PlyB has an N-terminal glycosyl hydrolase family 25 (GH25) catalytic domain and a C-terminal bacterial SH3-like domain, SH3b. Both domains are required for effective catalytic activity. Endolysins are produced by bacteriophages at the end of their life cycle and participate in lysing the bacterial cell in order to release the newly formed progeny. Endolysins (also referred to as endo-N-acetylmuramidases or peptidoglycan hydrolases) degrade bacterial cell walls by catalyzing the hydrolysis of 1,4-beta-linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues.

Endo-N-acetylmuramidases (muramidases) are lysozymes (also referred to as peptidoglycan hydrolases) that degrade bacterial cell walls by catalyzing the hydrolysis of 1,4-beta-linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues. This family of muramidases contains a glycosyl hydrolase family 25 (GH25) catalytic domain and is found in bacteria, fungi, slime molds, round worms, protozoans and bacteriophages. The bacteriophage members are referred to as endolysins which are involved in lysing the host cell at the end of the replication cycle to allow release of mature phage particles. Endolysins are typically modular enzymes consisting of a catalytically active domain that hydrolyzes the peptidoglycan cell wall and a cell wall-binding domain that anchors the protein to the cell wall. Endolysins generally have narrow substrate specificities with either intra-species or intra-genus bacteriolytic activity.

YegX is an uncharacterized bacterial protein with a glycosyl hydrolase family 25 (GH25) catalytic domain that is similar in sequence to the CH-type (Chalaropsis-type) lysozymes of the GH25 family of endolysins.

Glycosyl hydrolases family 25.

LysA is a cell wall endolysin produced by Lactobacillus fermentum, which degrades bacterial cell walls by catalyzing the hydrolysis of 1,4-beta-linkages between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues. The N-terminal glycosyl hydrolase family 25 (GH25) domain of LysA has sequence similarity with other murein hydrolase catalytic domains while the C-terminal domain has sequence similarity with putative bacterial cell wall-binding SH3b domains. This domain family also includes LysL of Lactococcus lactis.

High-resolutionstructure of catalytic domain of endolysin ply40 from bacteriophage P40 of Listeria monocytogenes [Listeria phage P40]

TheStructure of a family 25 Glycosyl hydrolase from Bacillus anthracis. [Bacillus anthracis str. Ames]