Synthetic biology of modular endolysins.

Endolysins and their derivatives have emerged in recent years as a novel class of antibacterials, which have now entered the clinical phases. Their rapid mode-of-action and proteinaceous nature differentiates them from any other class of antibiotics. A key feature of endolysins is their modularity and the opportunities that emerge thereof to customize properties such as specificity, activity, stability and solubility. Extensive protein engineering efforts have expanded the activity spectrum to (pan)drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria or have improved the activity against Gram-positive pathogens. In addition, specific cell wall binding domains derived from endolysins are exploited for the development of diagnostics.