1. The functional capacity of plantaricin-producing Lactobacillus plantarum SF9C and S-layer-carrying Lactobacillus brevis SF9B to withstand gastrointestinal transit
Katarina Butorac, et al. Microb Cell Fact. 2020 May 19;19(1):106. doi: 10.1186/s12934-020-01365-6.
Background: We evaluated the functional capacity of plantaricin-producing Lactobacillus plantarum SF9C and S-layer-carrying Lactobacillus brevis SF9B to withstand gastrointestinal transit and to compete among the gut microbiota in vivo. Considering the probiotic potential of Lb. brevis SF9B, this study aims to investigate the antibacterial activity of Lb. plantarum SF9C and their potential for in vivo colonisation in rats, which could be the basis for the investigation of their synergistic functionality. Results: A plantaricin-encoding cluster was identified in Lb. plantarum SF9C, a strain which efficiently inhibited the growth of Listeria monocytogenes ATCC® 19111™ and Staphylococcus aureus 3048. Homology-based three-dimensional (3D) structures of SF9C plantaricins PlnJK and PlnEF were predicted using SWISS-MODEL workspace and the helical wheel representations of the plantaricin peptide helices were generated by HELIQUEST. Contrary to the plantaricin-producing SF9C strain, the S-layer-carrying SF9B strain excluded Escherichia coli 3014 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium FP1 from the adhesion to Caco-2 cells. Finally, PCR-DGGE analysis of the V2-V3 regions of the 16S rRNA gene confirmed the transit of the two selected lactobacilli through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Microbiome profiling via the Illumina MiSeq platform revealed the prevalence of Lactobacillus spp. in the gut microbiota of the Lactobacillus-treated rats, even on the 10th day after the Lactobacillus application, compared to the microbiota of the healthy and AlCl3-exposed rats before Lactobacillus treatment. Conclusion: The combined application of Lb. plantarum SF9C and Lb. brevis SF9B was able to influence the intestinal microbiota composition in rats, which was reflected in the increased abundance of Lactobacillus genus, but also in the altered abundances of other bacterial genera, either in the model of healthy or aberrant gut microbiota of rats. The antibacterial activity and capacity to withstand in GIT conditions contributed to the functional aspects of SF9C and SF9B strains that could be incorporated in the probiotic-containing functional foods with a possibility to positively modulate the gut microbiota composition.
2. The Antibacterial Activity Mode of Action of Plantaricin YKX against Staphylococcus aureus
Jinjin Pei, Yigang Huang, Ting Ren, Yaodong Guo, Jun Dang, Yanduo Tao, Yonggui Zhang, A M Abd El-Aty Molecules. 2022 Jul 3;27(13):4280. doi: 10.3390/molecules27134280.
We aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of plantaricin YKX on S. aureus. The mode of action of plantaricin YKX against the cells of S. aureus indicated that plantaricin YKX was able to cause the leakage of cellular content and damage the structure of the cell membranes. Additionally, plantaricin YKX was also able to inhibit the formation of S. aureus biofilms. As the concentration of plantaricin YKX reached 3/4 MIC, the percentage of biofilm formation inhibition was over 50%. Fluorescent dye labeling combined with fluorescence microscopy confirmed the results. Finally, the effect of plantaricin YKX on the AI-2/LuxS QS system was investigated. Molecular docking predicted that the binding energy of AI-2 and plantaricin YKX was -4.7 kcal/mol and the binding energy of bacteriocin and luxS protein was -183.701 kcal/mol. The expression of the luxS gene increased significantly after being cocultured with plantaricin YKX, suggesting that plantaricin YKX can affect the QS system of S. aureus.
3. Plantaricin IIA-1A5 from Lactobacillus plantarum IIA-1A5 displays bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus
I Isnafia Arief, C Budiman, B Sri Laksmi Jenie, E Andreas, A Yuneni Benef Microbes. 2015;6(4):603-13. doi: 10.3920/BM2014.0064. Epub 2015 Apr 22.
Plantaricin IIA-1A5 is a bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum IIA-1A5 isolated from Indonesian beef. This research aimed to identify the genes involved in plantaricin IIA-1A5 production and examine its mode of action against Staphylococcus aureus. It has been reported that a bacteriocin structural gene, plnW, is present in genome of L. plantarum IIA-1A5. Here, we reported the presence of additional genes responsible for plantaricin precursor (plnA and plnEF) and a gene encoding the quorum sensor of histidine kinase (plnB). It indicates that genes involved in production of plantaricin IIA-1A5 are organized in at least two bacteriocin operons (plnABCD, plnEFI) and a structural plnW gene. Purified plantaricin IIA-1A5 yielded a single band in SDS-PAGE with apparent size of 6.4 kDa. Amino acid composition of purified plantaricin IIA-1A5 was mainly composed of cationic glutamic acid and cysteine that allowed the formation of disulphide bonds, suggesting plantaricin IIA-1A5 belongs to the pediocin-subclass of class II bacteriocins. Plantaricin IIA-1A5 displayed remarkable antibacterial activity against S. aureus, which was initiated by the adsorption of plantaricin IIA-1A5 onto the cell membrane of S. aureus. The adsorption is hypothesised to be facilitated by non-ionic interactions as it is reduced by the presence of organic solvents or detergents. This adsorption promoted leakage of cellular metabolites through the cell membrane of S. aureus, as indicated by the release of genetic and proteinaceous material of S. aureus observed at 260 and 280 nm, respectively. The leakage also promoted the release of divalent (Ca(2+), Mg(2+)) and monovalent (K(+)) cations. The release of these intracellular components might be due to pores formed in the cell membrane of S. aureus by plantaricin IIA-1A5 as shown by scanning electron microscopy. Altogether, the mode of action of plantaricin IIA-1A5 against S. aureus seems to be bactericidal as indicated by lysis of the cell membrane.
