Question: Lysozymes are found in ______
Answer: Lysozymes are found in various bodily secretions in humans and animals such as
| Lysozyme |
Information |
| Definition |
· Enzyme that breaks down the peptidoglycan layer of bacterial cell walls. |
| Sources
|
· Tears, saliva, mucus, and other bodily secretions of humans and animals
· Abundant in bird eggs, such as chicken eggs.
· Produced by certain bacteria as part of their defense mechanisms.
· Present in plants, contributing to their defense against pathogens. |
| Function
|
· Acts as a defense mechanism against bacterial infections in humans, animals, and plants.
· Found in bodily secretions like tears, saliva, and mucus, providing protection against bacterial pathogens.
· Also present in egg whites, protecting developing embryos from bacterial contamination.
· Produced by some bacteria, serving as a defense mechanism against competing bacteria or as a virulence factor. |
| Mechanism |
· Lysozyme cleaves the glycosidic bonds in the peptidoglycan layer which results in the lysis of bacterial cell walls. |
