BacCH91

Lactococcus lactis KTH0-1S isolated from Thai traditional fermented shrimp (Kung-som) is able to produce heat-stable bacteriocin and inhibits food spoilage bacteria and food-borne pathogens. The inhibitory effect of bacteriocin remained intact after treatment with different pHs and after heating, but was sensitive to some proteolytic enzymes. Addition of bacteriocin KTH0-1S to Staphylococcus aureus cultures decreased viable cell counts by 2.8 log CFU/ml, demonstrating a bactericidal mode of action. Furthermore, the growth of S. aureus decreased significantly after 12-h co-cultivation with bacteriocinogenic strain. The molecular mass of bacteriocin KTH0-1S was found to be 3.346 kDa after ammonium sulfate precipitation, reversed phase (C8 Sep-Pak), cation-exchange chromatography, RP-HPLC on C8 column and mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis. Bacteriocin KTH0-1S was identified as nisin Z using PCR amplification and sequencing. The majority of tested virulence factors were absent, confirming the safety. Evidenced inhibitory effect of this strain, the absence of virulence factors creates the possibility for its application as protective culture to inhibit pathogenic bacteria in the several fermented seafood products.

Lactococcus lactis F10, isolated from freshwater catfish, produces a bacteriocin (BacF) active against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus carnosus, Lactobacillus curvatus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus reuteri. The operon encoding BacF is located on a plasmid. Sequencing of the structural gene revealed no homology to other nisin genes. Nisin F is described.

Recently whole genome sequencing of Staphylococcus aureus has revealed the genes encoding cysteine proteases such as staphopain and SspB. In this study, we cloned and sequenced the structural gene (ScpA) encoding a cysteine (thiol) protease of S. aureus strain CH-91 from a chicken with dermatitis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and inverse PCR methods. The sequence information revealed a coding sequence (CDS) of 1200 nucleotides encoding the ScpA preproenzyme of 399 amino acids with a molecular mass of 45,071 Da. The deduced amino acid sequence of the ScpA differed at many positions from those of staphopain and SspB with identities of 64 and 42%, respectively. In the Southern blot analysis with a total DNA of S. aureus strain CH-91, the ScpA probe hybridized with a single 7.7 kb XbaI fragment or 2.8 and 0.8 kb EcoRI fragments, whereas the staphopain and SspB probes did not hybridize with these DNA fragments. These results suggest that this ScpA gene is a single-copy gene and is a novel gene, which is not found in the published whole genome sequences of S. aureus. In immunoblot, PCR, and Southern blot assays, the ScpA or its gene was detected in high protease-producing strains from chickens, but was not recognized in bovine and porcine strains or low protease-producing avian strains. These results indicate that the ScpA of CH-91 type may be specific to the high protease-producing strains of S. aureus from chickens, namely, there is a strain specificity of the ScpA.