Open AccessCharacterization of Enterococcus faecium E86 bacteriocins and their inhibition properties against Listeria monocytogenes and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus
Author(s) -
Felipe Miceli de Farias,
Lúcia Martins Teixeira,
Deyse Christina Vallim,
Maria do Carmo de Freire Bastos,
Marco Antônio Lemos Miguel,
Raquel Regina Bonelli
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
brazilian journal of microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1678-4405
pISSN - 1517-8382
DOI - 10.1007/s42770-021-00494-3
Subject(s) - bacteriocin , listeria monocytogenes , enterococcus faecium , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , listeria , enterococcus faecalis , structural gene , gene cluster , enterococcus , gene , antimicrobial , bacteria , genetics , antibiotics , escherichia coli
In the present scenario of a major demand for new compounds with antimicrobial activity, bacteriocin and bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) are promising tools against deteriorating and pathogenic microorganisms, thus having potential applications in both the food industry and infectious disease control. In the present report, we describe the genetic and phenotypic characteristics of BLIS produced by Enterococcus faecium E86, a strain previously isolated and sequenced by our group, focusing on the structural genes of two bacteriocins identified: enterocin TW21 and enterocin P. Transcription of all four genes associated with the biosynthesis and immunity of enterocin P and enterocin TW21 were confirmed by RT-PCR. However, Sanger sequencing confirmed a truncation of the structural gene of enterocin TW21 due to one base pair deletion (A/T). Thus, although E. faecium E86 was shown to carry two bacteriocinogenic gene clusters, only one cluster encodes a functional bacteriocin, enterocin P. Enterocin P was able to inhibit different strains of Listeria monocytogenes and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (both Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium), showing intense bacteriolytic activity, in most cases.