title: Identification and sequence analysis of pWcMBF8-1, a bacteriocin-encoding plasmid from the lactic acid bacterium Weissella confusa.
abstract: Members of the Gram-positive lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are well-known for their beneficial properties as starter cultures and probiotics. Many LAB species produce ribosomally synthesized proteinaceous antibiotics (bacteriocins). Weissella confusa MBF8-1 is a strain isolated from a fermented soybean product that not only produces useful exopolysaccharides but also exhibits bacteriocin activity, which we call weissellicin MBF. Here, we show that bacteriocin production by W. confusa MBF8-1 is specified by a large plasmid, pWcMBF8-1. Plasmid pWcMBF8-1 (GenBank accession number KR350502), which was identified from the W. confusa MBF8-1 draft genome sequence, is 17 643 bp in length with a G + C content of 34.8% and contains 25 open reading frames (ORFs). Six ORFs constitute the weissellicin MBF locus, encoding three putative double-glycine-motif peptides (Bac1, Bac2, Bac3), an ABC transporter complex (BacTE) and a putative immunity protein (BacI). Two ORFs encode plasmid partitioning and mobilization proteins, suggesting that pWcMBF8-1 is transferable to other hosts. To the best of our knowledge, plasmid pWcMBF8-1 not only represents the first large Weissella plasmid to be sequenced but also the first to be associated with bacteriocin production in W. confusa.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Indonesia, UI Depok Campus, Depok 16424, Indonesia amarila.malik@ui.ac.id.
authors.forename: Amarila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Indonesia, UI Depok Campus, Depok 16424, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Sumayyah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sumayyah
authors.affiliation: Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, PO Box 647, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Chia-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, PO Box 647, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Nicholas C K
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Heng
mesh_terms: D001430:Bacteriocins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D019936:Probiotics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013025:Glycine max / Q000382:microbiology; D058836:Weissella / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001430:Bacteriocins
keywords: BLIS; Weissella confusa; antimicrobial peptide; bacteriocin; plasmid