A New Antibacterial Principle: Megacine

Cloning and Characterization of the DNA Region Responsible for Megacin A-216 Production in Bacillus megaterium 216

“…Megacinogeny was first described in 1954 (17). It was observed that some cells in a growing culture of B. megaterium 216 spontaneously produced a substance that lysed cells of other B. megaterium strains but did not affect most other bacterial species.…”

“…It was observed that some cells in a growing culture of B. megaterium 216 spontaneously produced a substance that lysed cells of other B. megaterium strains but did not affect most other bacterial species. Production of this substance, later termed megacin A-216, is inducible by UV light (17), N-methyl-NЈ-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (28), or mitomycin C (23). Induction of megacin A-216 synthesis leads to lysis of the culture in 2 to 3 h (17).…”

“…Production of this substance, later termed megacin A-216, is inducible by UV light (17), N-methyl-NЈ-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (28), or mitomycin C (23). Induction of megacin A-216 synthesis leads to lysis of the culture in 2 to 3 h (17). Cell-free supernatants of an induced culture of B. megaterium 216 kill sensitive cells even in 10 4 -fold dilutions, whereas the producer strain 216 exhibits relative immunity to the bacteriocin (17).…”

“…Induction of megacin A-216 synthesis leads to lysis of the culture in 2 to 3 h (17). Cell-free supernatants of an induced culture of B. megaterium 216 kill sensitive cells even in 10 4 -fold dilutions, whereas the producer strain 216 exhibits relative immunity to the bacteriocin (17). Like bacteriocins in general, megacin A-216 has a rather narrow antibacterial spectrum: besides B. megaterium, it is active against some strains of Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus anthracis, Micrococcus aurantiacus, and M. cinnabareus (17,18,28).…”

“…Megacins are bacteriocins produced by certain strains of the gram-positive spore-forming bacterium Bacillus megaterium (13,17,36,39). Megacinogeny was first described in 1954 (17).…”