SMART researchers discover unique lysin capable of killing deadly multidrug-resistant bacteria

Researchers from the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, alongside collaborators at Nanyang Technological University, have identified a novel phage lysin – Abp013 – that could be used as an alternative antimicrobial agent against two of the most deadly bacteria: Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The study is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore, under its Intra-CREATE Collaborative Seed Grant.

Lysins – enzymes produced by bacteriophages – have displayed great potential as a novel class of antimicrobials as their properties allow them to quickly and directly target key structural components of a bacteria’s cell walls, and in doing so, reduce the bacteria’s ability to develop resistance.