Capsule-Targeting Depolymerases Derived from Prophage Regions.

In this study, several different depolymerases encoded in the prophage regions of genomes have been bioinformatically predicted and recombinantly produced. The identified depolymerases possessed multi-domain structures and were identical or closely homologous to various proteins encoded in other genomes. This means that prophage-derived depolymerases are widespread, and different bacterial genomes can be the source of proteins with polysaccharide-degrading activities.