-
Oxidative Medicine and Cellular... 2021Due to the challenges of antibiotic resistance to global health, bacteriocins as antimicrobial compounds have received more and more attention. Bacteriocins are... (Review)
Review
Due to the challenges of antibiotic resistance to global health, bacteriocins as antimicrobial compounds have received more and more attention. Bacteriocins are biosynthesized by various microbes and are predominantly used as food preservatives to control foodborne pathogens. Now, increasing researches have focused on bacteriocins as potential clinical antimicrobials or immune-modulating agents to fight against the global threat to human health. Given the broad- or narrow-spectrum antimicrobial activity, bacteriocins have been reported to inhibit a wide range of clinically pathogenic and multidrug-resistant bacteria, thus preventing the infections caused by these bacteria in the human body. Otherwise, some bacteriocins also show anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulatory activities. Because of the safety and being not easy to cause drug resistance, some bacteriocins appear to have better efficacy and application prospects than existing therapeutic agents do. In this review, we highlight the potential therapeutic activities of bacteriocins and suggest opportunities for their application.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteriocins; Humans
PubMed: 33936381
DOI: 10.1155/2021/5518825 -
Bacteriocin-Producing Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria in Controlling Dysbiosis of the Gut Microbiota.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2022Several strains of lactic acid bacteria are potent probiotics and can cure a variety of diseases using different modes of actions. These bacteria produce antimicrobial... (Review)
Review
Several strains of lactic acid bacteria are potent probiotics and can cure a variety of diseases using different modes of actions. These bacteria produce antimicrobial peptides, bacteriocins, which inhibit or kill generally closely related bacterial strains and other pathogenic bacteria such as , and . Bacteriocins are cationic peptides that kill the target cells by pore formation and the dissipation of cytosolic contents, leading to cell death. Bacteriocins are also known to modulate native microbiota and host immunity, affecting several health-promoting functions of the host. In this review, we have discussed the ability of bacteriocin-producing probiotic lactic acid bacteria in the modulation of gut microbiota correcting dysbiosis and treatment/maintenance of a few important human disorders such as chronic infections, inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, and cancer.
Topics: Bacteria; Bacteriocins; Dysbiosis; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Lactobacillales; Probiotics
PubMed: 35651753
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.851140 -
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta.... Aug 2020
Review
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Infections; Bacteriocins; Humans; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Nisin; Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci
PubMed: 32126235
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2020.183244 -
FEBS Letters Dec 2020Bacteria produce under certain stress conditions bacteriocins and microcins that display antibacterial activity against closely related species for survival.... (Review)
Review
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.
Topics: ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; Bacteriocins; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Gram-Positive Bacteria; Humans
PubMed: 33040342
DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13953 -
BMC Bioinformatics Jan 2023Bacteriocins are defined as thermolabile peptides produced by bacteria with biological activity against taxonomically related species. These antimicrobial peptides have...
BACKGROUND
Bacteriocins are defined as thermolabile peptides produced by bacteria with biological activity against taxonomically related species. These antimicrobial peptides have a wide application including disease treatment, food conservation, and probiotics. However, even with a large industrial and biotechnological application potential, these peptides are still poorly studied and explored. BADASS is software with a user-friendly graphical interface applied to the search and analysis of bacteriocin diversity in whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing data.
RESULTS
The search for bacteriocin sequences is performed with tools such as BLAST or DIAMOND using the BAGEL4 database as a reference. The putative bacteriocin sequences identified are used to determine the abundance and richness of the three classes of bacteriocins. Abundance is calculated by comparing the reads identified as bacteriocins to the reads identified as 16S rRNA gene using SILVA database as a reference. BADASS has a complete pipeline that starts with the quality assessment of the raw data. At the end of the analysis, BADASS generates several plots of richness and abundance automatically as well as tabular files containing information about the main bacteriocins detected. The user is able to change the main parameters of the analysis in the graphical interface. To demonstrate how the software works, we used four datasets from WMS studies using default parameters. Lantibiotics were the most abundant bacteriocins in the four datasets. This class of bacteriocin is commonly produced by Streptomyces sp.
CONCLUSIONS
With a user-friendly graphical interface and a complete pipeline, BADASS proved to be a powerful tool for prospecting bacteriocin sequences in Whole-Metagenome Shotgun Sequencing (WMS) data. This tool is publicly available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/badass/ .
Topics: Bacteriocins; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Software; Bacteria; Metagenome; Anti-Bacterial Agents
PubMed: 36670373
DOI: 10.1186/s12859-022-05106-x -
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2015With the growing concerns in the scientific and health communities over increasing levels of antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial peptide bacteriocins have emerged as... (Review)
Review
With the growing concerns in the scientific and health communities over increasing levels of antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial peptide bacteriocins have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional small molecule antibiotics. A substantial attention has recently focused on the utilization of bacteriocins in food preservation and health safety. Despite the fact that a large number of bacteriocins have been reported, only a few have been fully characterized and structurally elucidated. Since knowledge of the molecular structure is a key for understanding the mechanism of action and therapeutic effects of peptide, we centered our focus in this review on the structure-activity relationships of bacteriocins with a particular focus in seven bacteriocins, namely, nisin, microcin J25, microcin B17, microcin C, leucocin A, sakacin P, and pediocin PA-1. Significant structural changes responsible for the altered activity of the recent bacteriocin analogues are discussed here.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteriocins; Humans; Structure-Activity Relationship
PubMed: 26265354
DOI: 10.2174/1568026615666150812121103 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Oct 2022Bacteriocins, toxic peptides involved in the competition between bacterial strains, are extremely diverse. Previous work on bacteriocin dynamics has highlighted the role...
Bacteriocins, toxic peptides involved in the competition between bacterial strains, are extremely diverse. Previous work on bacteriocin dynamics has highlighted the role of non-transitive 'rock-paper-scissors' competition in maintaining the coexistence of different bacteriocin profiles. The focus to date has primarily been on bacteriocin interactions at the within-host scale (i.e. within a single bacterial population). Yet in species such as , with relatively short periods of colonization and limited within-host diversity, ecological outcomes are also shaped by processes at the epidemiological (between-host) scale. Here, we first investigate bacteriocin dynamics and diversity in epidemiological models. We find that in these models, bacteriocin diversity is more readily maintained than in within-host models, and with more possible combinations of coexisting bacteriocin profiles. Indeed, maintenance of diversity in epidemiological models does not require rock-paper-scissors dynamics; it can also occur through a competition-colonization trade-off. Second, we investigate the link between bacteriocin diversity and diversity at antibiotic resistance loci. Previous work has proposed that bacterial duration of colonization modulates the fitness of antibiotic resistance. Due to their inhibitory effects, bacteriocins are a plausible candidate for playing a role in the duration of colonization episodes. We extend the epidemiological model of bacteriocin dynamics to incorporate an antibiotic resistance locus and demonstrate that bacteriocin diversity can indeed maintain the coexistence of antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant strains.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteria; Bacteriocins; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Streptococcus pneumoniae
PubMed: 36196547
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1197 -
Journal of Applied Microbiology Jun 2016Nisin is a bacteriocin produced by a group of Gram-positive bacteria that belongs to Lactococcus and Streptococcus species. Nisin is classified as a Type A (I)... (Review)
Review
Nisin is a bacteriocin produced by a group of Gram-positive bacteria that belongs to Lactococcus and Streptococcus species. Nisin is classified as a Type A (I) lantibiotic that is synthesized from mRNA and the translated peptide contains several unusual amino acids due to post-translational modifications. Over the past few decades, nisin has been used widely as a food biopreservative. Since then, many natural and genetically modified variants of nisin have been identified and studied for their unique antimicrobial properties. Nisin is FDA approved and generally regarded as a safe peptide with recognized potential for clinical use. Over the past two decades the application of nisin has been extended to biomedical fields. Studies have reported that nisin can prevent the growth of drug-resistant bacterial strains, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Enterococci and Clostridium difficile. Nisin has now been shown to have antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative disease-associated pathogens. Nisin has been reported to have anti-biofilm properties and can work synergistically in combination with conventional therapeutic drugs. In addition, like host-defence peptides, nisin may activate the adaptive immune response and have an immunomodulatory role. Increasing evidence indicates that nisin can influence the growth of tumours and exhibit selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells. Collectively, the application of nisin has advanced beyond its role as a food biopreservative. Thus, this review will describe and compare studies on nisin and provide insight into its future biomedical applications.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antineoplastic Agents; Bacterial Infections; Bacteriocins; Biofilms; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Gram-Positive Bacteria; Nisin; Preservation, Biological; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 26678028
DOI: 10.1111/jam.13033 -
Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins Sep 2020Enterococci are commensals of human and other animals' gastrointestinal tracts. Only making up a small part of the microbiota, they have not played a significant role in... (Review)
Review
Enterococci are commensals of human and other animals' gastrointestinal tracts. Only making up a small part of the microbiota, they have not played a significant role in research, until the 1980s. Although the exact year is variable according to different geographical areas, this was the decade when vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) were discovered and since then their role as causative agents of human infections has increased. Enterococcus faecium is on the WHO's list of "bacteria for which new antibiotics are urgently needed," and with no new antibiotics in development, the situation is desperate. In this review, different aspects of VRE are outlined, including the mortality caused by VRE, antibiotic resistance profiles, animal-modeling efforts, and virulence. In addition, the limitations of current antibiotic treatments for VRE and prospective new treatments, such as bacteriocins, are reviewed.
Topics: Animals; Bacteriocins; Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecium; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Humans; Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci; Virulence
PubMed: 31758332
DOI: 10.1007/s12602-019-09618-6 -
Current Opinion in Biotechnology Feb 2018Bacteriocins, defined as ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides, have traditionally been used as food preservatives, either added or produced by starter cultures... (Review)
Review
Bacteriocins, defined as ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial peptides, have traditionally been used as food preservatives, either added or produced by starter cultures during fermentation. In-depth studies of a select few bacteriocins opened exiting new research fields and broadened the application of these antimicrobial peptides. The possibility of developing bacteriocins into next generation antibiotics, accompanied with the rapid development in genetics and nanotechnology, paves the way to even more fascinating applications such as novel carrier molecules (delivery systems) and the treatment of cancer. Also, some bacteriocins are found to regulate quorum sensing which suggests novel applications for this group of substances. While there is some interesting translational research on bacteriocins from Gram-negative bacteria, the majority of application-oriented studies are focused on bacteriocins from Gram-positive microorganisms, mostly lactic acid bacteria. The applications of bacteriocins are expanding from food to human health.
Topics: Bacteriocins; Food; Food Preservation; Health; Humans; Microbial Viability
PubMed: 28787641
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2017.07.011