Johnna Garrish

Mrs. Johnna Garrish


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

12Years (2015-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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12 June 2015 in Viruses
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SSSteven Swift
Steven Swift
BSBruce Seal
Bruce Seal
JGJohnna Garrish
Johnna Garrish
BOBrian B Oakley
Brian B Oakley
KHKelli Hiett
Kelli Hiett
DDDavid Donovan
David Donovan
Clostridium perfringens is the third leading cause of human foodborne bacterial disease and is the presumptive etiologic agent of necrotic enteritis among chickens. Treatment of poultry with antibiotics is becoming less acceptable. Endolysin enzymes are potential replacements for antibiotics. Many enzymes are added to animal feed during production and are subjected to high-heat stress during feed processing. To produce a thermostabile endolysin for treating poultry, an E. coli codon-optimized gene was synthesized that fused the N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidase domain from the endolysin of the thermophilic bacteriophage ɸGVE2 to the cell-wall binding domain (CWB) from the endolysin of the C. perfringens-specific bacteriophage ɸCP26F. The resulting protein, PlyGVE2CpCWB, lysed C. perfringens in liquid and solid cultures. PlyGVE2CpCWB was most active at pH 8, had peak activity at 10 mM NaCl, 40% activity at 150 mM NaCl and was still 16% active at 600 mM NaCl. The protein was able to withstand temperatures up to 50° C and still lyse C. perfringens. Herein, we report the construction and characterization of a thermostable chimeric endolysin that could potentially be utilized as a feed additive to control the bacterium during poultry production.