Are Bacteriocins Underexploited? NOVEL Applications for OLD Antimicrobials

Abstract

Bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesized (poly)peptides produced by almost all prokaryotic lineages. Bacteriocins from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and bacteriocin-producer probiotic organisms have been thoroughly studied due to their wide spectra of action, the long-term use in food fermentations and the consideration of these microorganisms as beneficial for human beings. Most of the studies on the biotechnological application of diverse bacteriocins have been focused on their use as food preservatives, nisin being the prototype successfully used in alimentation. However, bacteriocins from LAB have demonstrated a remarkable potential as therapeutics for medical or veterinary uses, alone or in combination with classical antimicrobials. Their interest is even higher now that the resistance to the antibacterials used in therapeutics is growing. In this review we explore exciting opportunities for bacteriocin and probiotic applications, highlighting the possibilities for new and innovative research in order to give the necessary attention to this type of natural molecules that exhibit a great potential.

Garvicin A, a Novel Class IId Bacteriocin from Lactococcus garvieae That Inhibits Septum Formation in L. garvieae Strains

“…Bacteriocins represent an alternative to existing antimicrobials due to their antibacterial activity against several relevant pathogenic bacteria in veterinary medicine and human health (53)(54)(55). Purified or partially purified bacteriocins can also be used for the treatment of target pathogenic bacteria, with a success rate even higher than that for the administration of bacteriocinogenic bacteria (56).…”

Enterocin AS-48 as Evidence for the Use of Bacteriocins as New Leishmanicidal Agents

“…In the last years, there has been an increasing awareness of bacteriocins as a new source of anti-infective agents (14)(15)(16), even transcending those infections from a bacterial origin (antifungal or antiviral), substantiated by their staggering structural diversity, feasibility of genetic engineering, safe use as food biopreservatives (17,18), and safe toxicity profile on higher eukaryotic cells (19). In this trend, the number of reports concerning bacteriocins as antiprotozoal agents (20)(21)(22)(23) is surprisingly lower than that of reports aiming at other eukaryotic targets such as fungi (24)(25)(26) or even tumoral cells (27)(28)(29).…”

The Putative Lactococcal Extracytoplasmic Function Anti-Sigma Factor Llmg2447 Determines Resistance to the Cell Wall-Active Bacteriocin Lcn972

“…Their production by bacteria "generally recognized as safe," such as lactic acid bacteria involved in food fermentations, has been the rationale for their use to inhibit undesirable bacteria in food, nisin being the first bacteriocin authorized as a food preservative (11,15). Under the pressure of the urgent need for new antimicrobials, bacteriocins have been proposed as new anti-infectives, as several of them are also active against multiresistant pathogens (17,29).…”