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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2001, p. 4041-4047, Vol. 67, No. 9
Microbiology Research Division, Bureau of Microbial
Hazards, Food Directorate, Health Protection Branch, 1 Research Services Division, Bureau of Biologics and
Radiopharmaceuticals, Biologics and Genetics Directorate, Health
Products and Foods Branch,2 and National
Laboratory for HIV Genetics,3 Health Canada,
Banting Research Centre, Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A
0L2
Received 26 January 2001/Accepted 15 June 2001
Listeria innocua 743 produces an inhibitory activity
demonstrating broad-spectrum inhibition of Listeria
monocytogenes isolates. Gel-electrophoretic analysis of culture
supernatants indicated that two inhibitors with different molecular
weights were produced by this strain. Insertion of Tn917
into a 2.9 Kb plasmid (pHC743) generated mutants with either an
impaired ability or a loss in ability to produce one of the inhibitors.
Sequence analysis of the transposon insertion regions revealed the
presence of two continuous open reading frames, the first encoding a
new pediocin-like bacteriocin (lisA) and the second
encoding a protein homologous with genes involved in immunity toward
other bacteriocins (lisB). Translation of the
bacteriocin gene (lisA) initiates from a noncanonical start codon and encodes a 71-amino-acid prebacteriocin which lacked the
double glycine leader peptidase processing site common in other type II
bacteriocins. Alignment of the sequence with the processed N termini of
related bacteriocins suggests that the mature bacteriocin consists of
43 amino acids, with a predicted molecular mass of 4,484 Da.
Mutants containing insertions into lisA were sensitive
to the inhibitor, indicating that lisAB forms a single
operon and that lisB represents the immunity protein. Cloning of an amplicon containing the lisAB operon into
Escherichia coli resulted in expression and export of
the bacteriocin. This finding confirms that the phenotype is dependent
on the structural and immunity gene only and that export of this
bacteriocin is sec dependent. This is the first
confirmation of bacteriocin production in a Listeria
spp., and it is of interest that this bacteriocin is closely related to
the pediocin family of bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria.
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.9.4041-4047.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Identification of a New Plasmid-Encoded
sec-Dependent Bacteriocin Produced by Listeria
innocua 743
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbiology
Research Division, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate,
Health Protection Branch, Health Canada, Banting Research Centre,
Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0L2. Phone: (613)
957-0903. Fax: (613) 941-0280. E-mail:
Martin_Kalmokof{at}hc-sc.gc.ca.
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