F-Type Pyocins Are Diverse Noncontractile Phage Tail-Like Weapons for Killing <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>
Senjuti Saha, Chidozie D. Ojobor, Annie Si Cong Li, Erik Mackinnon, Olesia I. North, Joseph Bondy‐Denomy, Joseph S. Lam, Alexander W. Ensminger, Karen L. Maxwell, Alan R. Davidson
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes antibiotic-resistant infections with high mortality rates, particularly in immunocompromised individuals and cystic fibrosis patients. Due to the increasing frequency of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa infections, there is great need for the development of alternative therapeutics. In this study, we investigate one such potential therapeutic: F-type pyocins, which are bacteriocins naturally produced by P. aeruginosa that resemble noncontractile phage tails. We show that they are potent killers of P. aeruginosa and identify their probable bactericidal specificity determinants, which opens up the possibility of engineering them to precisely target strains of pathogenic bacteria. The resemblance of F-type pyocins to well-characterized phage tails will greatly facilitate their development into effective antibacterials.