Lysozyme Polypeptide Variants for Staphylococcus Feed Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lysozyme products, such as those derived from hen egg white, are ineffective against certain bacterial pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, and antimicrobial growth promoters are being phased out, necessitating new solutions for animal feed additives that enhance growth promotion without using AGPs.
Innovation Solution
Development of novel LYS polypeptides with lysozyme activity, characterized by specific LAD catalytic domains and sequence identities, which can be used in animal feed to improve digestibility and performance parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hen egg white lysozyme is used, then it is available commercially and can be produced, but it is ineffective against certain bacterial pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the amino acid sequence of lysozyme to create novel variants with enhanced activity. Specifically, the invention introduces mutations in the catalytic domain and other regions to improve effectiveness against Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus while maintaining stability and activity across different conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates chimeric lysozyme proteins by combining functional domains from different lysozyme sources. The novel LYS polypeptides incorporate catalytic domains from bacteriophage T4 lysozyme (GH24 family) combined with regulatory domains from other lysozymes, resulting in a composite protein with superior broad-spectrum activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
2Productivity
If antimicrobial growth promoters are used, then animal growth is promoted, but they are being phased out and new solutions are needed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and utilizes the natural antimicrobial properties of lysozyme enzymes to achieve growth promotion effects. By isolating and optimizing lysozyme activity, the invention provides an alternative to synthetic antimicrobial growth promoters, leveraging a naturally occurring enzyme that breaks down bacterial cell walls to improve animal health and growth without contributing to antimicrobial resistance.
3Reliability
If lysozyme activity is enhanced to lyse bacterial cell walls effectively, then digestibility and growth promotion improve, but the molecular complexity of the polypeptide increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the lysozyme protein into functional domains: a catalytic domain responsible for enzymatic activity and regulatory domains that control expression and stability. By segmenting the protein structure and optimizing each domain independently, the invention achieves high lysozyme activity while managing the overall molecular complexity through modular design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The novel LYS polypeptides effectively lyse bacterial cell walls, including those of Staphylococcus aureus, enhancing animal feed digestibility and promoting animal growth without the use of antimicrobial growth promoters.
Implementation Method 1
The enzyme causes the hydrolysis of bacterial cell walls by cleaving the glycosidic bonds of peptidoglycan
Data Source
AI summary
Novel polypeptides having lysozyme activity, polynucleotides encoding polypeptides having lysozyme activity, and nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising polynucleotides that encode polypeptides having lysozyme activity, as well as methods of producing and using such polypeptides, polynucleotides, constructs, vectors, and host cells, including, but not limited to, animal feed and animal feed additives comprising polypeptides having lysozyme activity.