title: Characterization of serracin P, a phage-tail-like bacteriocin, and its activity against Erwinia amylovora, the fire blight pathogen.
abstract: Serratia plymithicum J7 culture supernatant displayed activity against many pathogenic strains of Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of the most serious bacterial disease of apple and pear trees, fire blight, and against Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia liquefaciens, Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas fluorescens. This activity increased significantly upon induction with mitomycin C. A phage-tail-like bacteriocin, named serracin P, was purified from an induced culture supernatant of S. plymithicum J7. It was found to be the only compound involved in the antibacterial activity against sensitive strains. The N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of the two major subunits (23 and 43 kDa) of serracin P revealed high homology with the Fels-2 prophage of Salmonella enterica, the coliphages P2 and 168, the phiCTX prophage of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and a prophage of Yersinia pestis. This strongly suggests a common ancestry for serracin P and these bacteriophages.
authors.affiliation: Centre Wallon de Biologie Industrielle, Service de Technologie Microbienne, Université de Liège, Sart-Tilman, BE-4000 Liège, Belgium. a_jabrane@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Abdelhamid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jabrane
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sabri
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Compère
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vandenberghe
authors.forename: Jozef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Beeumen
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thonart
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000737:chemistry; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004798:Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D004885:Erwinia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012705:Serratia / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001430:Bacteriocins; D004798:Enzymes