Lysozyme can kill bacteria through 2 mechanisms.

(A) A newly synthesized PG monomer consists of a disaccharide, NAG linked to NAM with an attached peptide stem, and the NAM is anchored to the membrane via a lipid carrier (grey). Monomers are added to a growing chain through the action of glycosyltransferases (green). (B) Lysozyme hydrolyzes the β-1,4 glycosidic bond between the NAM of 1 monomer and the NAG of the adjacent monomer. Lysozyme hydrolysis of PG leads to cell wall instability and bacterial cell death. (C) Lysozyme can also kill bacteria independently of PG hydrolysis through a mechanism involving its cationic nature. Cationic killing of bacteria may involve the formation of pores by lysozyme (red cylinders) on the bacterial cell membrane. Abbreviations: NAG, N-acetylglucosamine; NAM, N-acetylmuramic acid.