The Tape Measure Protein of the Staphylococcus aureus Bacteriophage vB_SauS-phiIPLA35 Has an Active Muramidase Domain

Tailed double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) bacteriophages frequently harbor structural proteins displaying peptidoglycan hydrolytic activities. The tape measure protein from Staphylococcus aureus bacteriophage vB_SauS-phiIPLA35 has a lysozyme-like and a peptidase_M23 domain. This report shows that the lysozyme-like domain (TG1) has muramidase activity and exhibits in vitro lytic activity against live S. aureus cells, an activity that could eventually find use in the treatment of infections.