Identification of the amino acid residues critical for specific binding of the bacteriolytic enzyme of gamma-phage, PlyG, to Bacillus anthracis.

Bacillus anthracis causes anthrax, a lethal disease affecting humans, which has attracted attention due to its bioterrorism potential. gamma-Phage specifically infects B. anthracis, and is used for its detection. gamma-Phage lysin, PlyG, specifically lyses B. anthracis. Mutational analysis of PlyGB (PlyG binding domain; residues 156-233) indicated that positions 190-199 are necessary for binding to B. anthracis. This region is the central part of PlyGB and is predicted to form a beta-sheet. The amino acid residues of this region are also conserved in other lysins specific for B. anthracis. Alanine substitution at position 190 or 199 within this region resulted in significantly reduced binding, suggesting that L190 and Q199 play key roles in binding of PlyGB to B. anthracis. Our observations provide new insight into the mechanism of specific binding of lysin to B. anthracis, and may be useful in establishing new methods for detection of B. anthracis.