Natural variation in susceptibility of Listeria strains to class IIa bacteriocins.
Thirty-one Listeria strains were tested for sensitivity to four class IIa bacteriocins, namely, enterocin A, mesentericin Y105, divercin V41, and pediocin AcH, and to nisin A. Class IIa bacteriocins displayed surprisingly similar antimicrobial patterns ranging from highly susceptible to fully resistant strains, whereas nisin A showed a different pattern in which all Listeria strains were inhibited. Particularly, it was observed that the strain Listeria monocytogenes V7 could not be inhibited by any of the class lIa bacteriocins tested. These observations suggest that Listeria strains resistant to the whole range of class IIa bacteriocins may occur in natural environments, which could be of great concern with regard to the use of these peptides as food preservatives.
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherche Laitière et Génétique Appliquée, Jouy-en-Josas, France. ennahar@hotmail.com
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Ennahar
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Deschamps
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Richard
D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008087:Listeria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009561:Nisin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000070017:Pediocins
D001430:Bacteriocins; D005520:Food Preservatives; D000070017:Pediocins; C116372:divercin V41; C107799:enterocin A; C079275:mesentericin Y105 protein, Leuconostoc mesenteroides; C074288:pediocin PA-1; D009561:Nisin; C102526:nisin A