title: Two-component anti-Staphylococcus aureus lantibiotic activity produced by Staphylococcus aureus C55.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus C55 was shown to produce bacteriocin activity comprising three distinct peptide components, termed staphylococcins C55alpha, C55beta, and C55gamma. The three peptides were purified to homogeneity by a simple four-step purification procedure that consisted of ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by XAD-2 and reversed-phase (C8 and C18) chromatography. The yield following C8 chromatography was about 86%, with a more-than-300-fold increase in specific activity. When combined in approximately equimolar amounts, staphylococcins C55alpha and C55beta acted synergistically to kill S. aureus or Micrococcus luteus but not S. epidermidis strains. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of all three peptides were obtained and staphylococcins C55alpha and C55beta were shown to be lanthionine-containing (lantibiotic) molecules with molecular weights of 3,339 and 2,993, respectively. The C55gamma peptide did not appear to be a lantibiotic, nor did it augment the inhibitory activities of staphylococcin C55alpha and/or C55beta. Plasmids of 2. 5 and 32.0 kb are present in strain C55, and following growth of this strain at elevated temperature (42 degreesC), a large proportion of the progeny failed to produce strong bacteriocin activity and also lost the 32.0-kb plasmid. Protoplast transformation of these bacteria with purified 32-kb plasmid DNA regenerates the ability to produce the strong bacteriocin activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Navaratna
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Sahl
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Tagg
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010455:Peptides; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001430:Bacteriocins; D010455:Peptides; C017724:staphylococcin