| Summary: | Lysozyme is a crucial component of the host’s innate immune system. Due to its natural non-toxic and harmless characteristics, lysozyme is considered to be an ideal antibiotic substitute. In this study, we analyzed the expression profiles of lysozymes from zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>) in uninfected or <i>V. vulnificus</i>-infected tissues using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). Furthermore, lysozymes that might be involved in the defense against <i>V. vulnificus</i> were selected for over-expression, and the antibacterial activity of over-expressed lysozyme proteins were evaluated using <i>V. vulnificus</i>. The results showed that three types of zebrafish lysozyme, i.e., c-type lysozyme (DrLysC), g1-type lysozyme (DrLysG1), and g2-type lysozyme (DrLysG2), were identified, and <i>V. vulnificus</i> infection significantly changed the expression levels of DrLysC and DrLysG1. Then, DrLysC and DrLysG1 were over-expressed in <i>E. coli</i>, and the purified recombinant DrLysC (rDrLysC) showed more potent antibacterial activity against <i>V. vulnificus</i>. This finding lays the foundation for further application of rDrLysC to treat <i>V. vulnificus</i> infection.
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