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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2009, p. 4427-4434, Vol. 75, No. 13
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00262-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Influence of Ca2+ Ions on the Activity of Lantibiotics Containing a Mersacidin-Like Lipid II Binding Motif{triangledown}

T. Böttiger,1 T. Schneider,1 B. Martínez,2 H.-G. Sahl,1 and I. Wiedemann1*

Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology-Pharmaceutical Microbiology Section, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 168, D-53115 Bonn, Germany,1 Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias, IPLA-CSIC, 33300 Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain2

Received 3 February 2009/ Accepted 1 May 2009

Mersacidin binds to lipid II and thus blocks the transglycosylation step of the cell wall biosynthesis. Binding of lipid II involves a special motif, the so-called mersacidin-lipid II binding motif, which is conserved in a major subgroup of lantibiotics. We analyzed the role of Ca2+ ions in the mode of action of mersacidin and some related peptides containing a mersacidin-like lipid II binding motif. We found that the stimulating effect of Ca2+ ions on the antimicrobial activity known for mersacidin also applies to plantaricin C and lacticin 3147. Ca2+ ions appear to facilitate the interaction of the lantibiotics with the bacterial membrane and with lipid II rather than being an essential part of a peptide-lipid II complex. In the case of lacticin 481, both the interaction with lipid II and the antimicrobial activity were Ca2+ independent.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 168, D-53115 Bonn, Germany. Phone: 49 (0)228 73-4637. Fax: 49 (0)228 73-5267. E-mail: imke.wiedemann{at}ukb.uni-bonn.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 8 May 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2009, p. 4427-4434, Vol. 75, No. 13
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00262-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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