Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is an emerging zoonotic agent that exhibits high level resistance to classic antibiotics and a heavy burden in the swine industry. Therefore alternative antibacterial agents need to be developed. A novel endolysin derived from the S. suis temperate phage phi5218, termed Ply5218, was identified. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Ply5218 was 2.5 μg ml(-1) against S. suis strain HA9801, an activity many times greater than the lysins reported previously (MIC of LY7917 and Ply30 against HA9801 were 80 and 64 μg ml(-1), respectively). Ply5218 at 10 μg ml(-1) in vitro exerted broad antibacterial activities against S. suis strains with OD600 ratios decreased from 1 to <0.2 within 1 h. Moreover, Ply5218 showed favorable thermal stability. It was stable at 50°C >30 min, 4°C >30 days, -80°C >7 months, and >60% of the enzyme activity remained after 5 min pre-incubation at 70°C. In vivo, a 0.2 mg dose of Ply5218 protected 90% (9/10) of mice after infection with S. suis HA9801. Finally, Ply5218 maintained high antibacterial activity in some bio-matrices, such as culture media and milk. The data indicate that Ply5218 has all the characteristics to be an effective therapeutic agent against multiple S. suis infections.
Keywords: antibacterial; lytic activity; prophage lysin; S. suis; thermal stability.
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