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Self‐immunity to antibacterial peptides by ABC transporters
Author(s) -
Smits Sander H.J.,
Schmitt Lutz,
Beis Konstantinos
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.13953
Subject(s) - bacteriocin , atp binding cassette transporter , bacteria , biology , peptide , transporter , immunity , antibacterial peptide , microbiology and biotechnology , antibacterial activity , innate immune system , biochemistry , chemistry , immune system , receptor , gene , immunology , genetics
Bacteria produce under certain stress conditions bacteriocins and microcins that display antibacterial activity against closely related species for survival. Bacteriocins and microcins exert their antibacterial activity by either disrupting the membrane or inhibiting essential intracellular processes of the bacterial target. To this end, they can lyse bacterial membranes and cause subsequent loss of their integrity or nutrients, or hijack membrane receptors for internalisation. Both bacteriocins and microcins are ribosomally synthesised and several are posttranslationally modified, whereas others are not. Such peptides are also toxic to the producer bacteria, which utilise immunity proteins or/and dedicated ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) transporters to achieve self‐immunity and peptide export. In this review, we discuss the structure and mechanism of self‐protection that is conferred by these ABC transporters.