Аннотация:ABSTRACT A Bacillus anthracis virulence plasmid-encoded peptidoglycan hydrolase (AmiA) with sequence similarity to N -acetylmuramoyl- l -alanine amidases hydrolyzes peptidoglycan independently of cell wall binding. Residues H341, E355, H415, and E486 are absolutely required for catalysis. Many AmiA paralogs are fused to different sorting signals, suggesting that these modular proteins result from domain shuffling.