There's a book called "Lysozymes: Model Enzymes in Biochemistry and Biology". In it there's a chapter called "Bacterial lysozymes" by J.-V. Holtje.
The first paragraph says:
"Lysozyme is not only the most powerful antibacterial agent ... it is also present in a number of bacteria. Because of its potential to act as a suicidal enzyme, it is also referred to as an autolytic enzyme (autolysin). .... The physiological function of bacterial lysozymes and the other autolysins is still a matter of debate, although it is clear that they are involved in the metabolism of the bacterial cell wall (Shockman and Holtje, 1994)."
That is the year 1996.
Is there any recent progress in this field?
Thanks
2013...
Article Structures of a Bifunctional Cell Wall Hydrolase CwlT Contai...
It is a lytic enzyme and is used to lyse bacterial cell wall during DNA or plasmid isolation. So there are a class of such enzymes which can do the same function such as mutanolysin. It is also secreted by some bacteria and act on the producer cells , I think themes of such enzymes need more and more research.
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