Production of enterolysin A by rumen Enterococcus faecalis strain and occurrence of enlA homologues among ruminal Gram-positive cocci.
OBJECTIVE
Purification and partial characterization of an extracellular bacteriocin produced by the ruminal isolate Enterococcus faecalis II/1 and determine the frequency of occurrence of enterolysin A structural gene within the ruminal cocci.


RESULTS
Bacteriocin produced by E. faecalis II/1 was purified to homogeneity. Purified bacteriocin exhibited a single band on sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with an apparent molecular weight of about 35 kDa. The amino acid sequence of the first 30 amino acids of purified bacteriocin was identical with the enterolysin A sequence. The DNA sequence of the nearly complete E. faecalis II/1 bacteriocin structural gene was identical to the enterolysin A gene sequence, confirming that this bacteriocin is identical to enterolysin A, a cell wall-degrading bacteriocin from E. faecalis LMG 2333. Enterolysin A structural genes were detected in approximately one-sixth of the Gram-positive ruminal cocci examined by PCR using primers targeting the enterolysin A structural gene.


CONCLUSIONS
Bacteriocin produced by E. faecalis II/1 is identical to enterolysin A. Enterolysin A structural gene homologues are frequently encountered in rumen enterococcal and streptococcal bacterial strains.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first evidence of a large heat-labile bacteriocin produced by rumen E. faecalis strain, enlarging the number and types of known anti-bacterial proteins produced by rumen bacteria.
Nigutova
K
K
Institute of Animal Physiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia.
Morovsky
M
M
Pristas
P
P
Teather
R M
RM
Holo
H
H
Javorsky
P
P
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006095:Gram-Positive Cocci / Q000235:genetics; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012418:Ruminants / Q000382:microbiology*; D017385:Sequence Homology
D001430:Bacteriocins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C522987:enterolysin A, Enterococcus faecalis