AUTHOR=Knecht Leandra E. , Veljkovic Marjan , Fieseler Lars 

TITLE=Diversity and Function of Phage Encoded Depolymerases

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02949

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.02949

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Bacteriophages of the <italic>Podoviridae</italic> family often exhibit so-called depolymerases as structural components of the virion. These enzymes appear as tail spike proteins (TSPs). After specific binding to capsular polysaccharides (CPS), exopolysaccharides (EPS) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the host bacteria, polysaccharide-repeating units are specifically cleaved. Finally, the phage reaches the last barrier, the cell wall, injects its DNA, and infects the cell. Recently, similar enzymes from bacteriophages of the <italic>Ackermannviridae</italic>, <italic>Myoviridae</italic>, and <italic>Siphoviridae</italic> families were also described. In this mini-review the diversity and function of phage encoded CPS-, EPS-, and LPS-degrading depolymerases is summarized. The function of the enzymes is described in terms of substrate specificity and applications in biotechnology.</p>