A new rapid fluorogenic method for measuring bacteriocin activity

Class I defensins (BraDef) from broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) seeds and their antimicrobial activity

The objective of this study was to determine whether seeds of Brassica oleracea var. italica (i.e. broccoli, an edible plant) produce defensins that inhibit phytopathogenic fungi and pathogenic bacteria of clinical significance. Crude extracts obtained from broccoli seeds were fractioned by molecular exclusion techniques and analyzed by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. Two peptides were identified, BraDef1 (10.68 kDa) and BraDef2 (9.9 kDa), which were categorized as Class I defensins based on (a) their primary structure, (b) the presence of four putative cysteine disulfide bridges, and (c) molecular modeling predictions. BraDef1 and BraDef2 show identities of, respectively, 98 and 71%, and 67 and 85%, with defensins from Brassica napus and Arabidopsis thaliana. BraDef (BraDef1 + BraDef2) disrupted membranes of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Alternaria alternata and also reduced hyphal growth of C. gloeosporioides by ~ 56% after 120 h of incubation. Pathogenic bacteria (Bacillus cereus 183, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Vibrio parahaemolitycus) were susceptible to BraDef, but probiotic bacteria such as Bifidobacterium animalis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus casei were not inhibited. To our knowledge, this is the first report of defensins present in seeds of B. oleracea var. italica (i.e. edible broccoli). Our findings suggest an applied value for BraDef1/BraDef2 in controlling phytopathogenic fungi and pathogenic bacteria of clinical significance.

Requirement for Ergosterol in Berberine Tolerance Underlies Synergism of Fluconazole and Berberine against Fluconazole-Resistant Candida albicans Isolates

Candida albicans is one of the most common fungal pathogens. Our previous study demonstrated that concomitant use of berberine (BBR) and fluconazole (FLC) showed a synergistic action against FLC-resistant C. albicans in vitro and BBR had a major antifungal effect in the synergism, while FLC played a role of increasing the intracellular BBR concentration. Since the antifungal activity of BBR alone is very weak (MIC > 128 μg/mL), it was assumed that FLC-resistant C. albicans was naturally tolerant to BBR, and this tolerance could be reversed by FLC. The present study aimed to elucidate the mechanism underlying BBR tolerance in FLC-resistant C. albicans and its disruption by FLC. The ergosterol quantitative analysis showed that the BBR monotreatment could increase the content of cellular ergosterol. Real-time RT-PCR revealed a global upregulation of ergosterol synthesis genes in response to BBR exposure. In addition, exogenous ergosterol could decrease intracellular BBR concentration and increase the expression of drug efflux pump genes, further reducing the susceptibility of C. albicans to BBR. Similar to FLC, other antifungal agents acting on ergosterol were able to synergize with BBR against FLC-resistant C. albicans. However, the antifungal agents not acting on ergosterol were not synergistic with BBR. These results suggested that ergosterol was required for BBR tolerance, and FLC could enhance the susceptibility of FLC-resistant C. albicans to BBR by inhibiting ergosterol synthesis.

Antiproliferation of Berberine in Combination with Fluconazole from the Perspectives of Reactive Oxygen Species, Ergosterol and Drug Efflux in a Fluconazole-Resistant Candida tropicalis Isolate

Candida tropicalis has emerged as an important pathogenic fungus in nosocomial infections due to its recalcitrant resistance to conventional antifungal agents, especially to fluconazole (FLC). Berberine (BBR) is a bioactive herbal-originated alkaloids and has been reported to possess antifungal functions against C. albicans. In this paper, we tried to figure out the antifungal mechanisms of BBR and/or FLC in a clinical C. tropicalis isolate 2006. In the microdilution test, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of BBR was found 16 μg/mL with fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) 0.13 in C. tropicalis 2006. The synergism of BBR and FLC was also confirmed microscopically. After the treatments of BBR and/or FLC, the studies revealed that (i) FLC facilitated BBR to increase reactive oxygen species (ROS), (ii) FLC enhanced the intranuclear accumulation of BBR, (iii) BBR decreased the extracellular rhodamine 123 (Rh123) via inhibiting efflux transporters, (iv) FLC assisted BBR to reduce ergosterol content, and (v) BBR in combined with FLC largely downregulated the expressions of Candida drug resistance 1 (CDR1) and CDR2 but impact slightly multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1), and upregulate the expression of ergosterol 11 (ERG11). These results suggested that BBR could become a potent antifungal drug to strengthen FLC efficacy in FLC-resistant C. tropicalis via ROS increase, intracellular BBR accumulation, ergosterol decrease and efflux inhibition.

Fluconazole assists berberine to kill fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans

It was found in our previous study that berberine (BBR) and fluconazole (FLC) used concomitantly exhibited a synergism against FLC-resistant Candida albicans in vitro. The aim of the present study was to clarify how BBR and FLC worked synergistically and the underlying mechanism. Antifungal time-kill curves indicated that the synergistic effect of the two drugs was BBR dose dependent rather than FLC dose dependent. In addition, we found that BBR accumulated in C. albicans cells, especially in the nucleus, and resulted in cell cycle arrest and significant change in the transcription of cell cycle-related genes. Besides BBR, other DNA intercalators, including methylene blue, sanguinarine, and acridine orange, were all found to synergize with FLC against FLC-resistant C. albicans. Detection of intracellular BBR accumulation by fluorescence measurement showed that FLC played a role in increasing intracellular BBR concentration, probably due to its effect in disrupting the fungal cell membrane. Similar to the case with FLC, other antifungal agents acting on the cell membrane were able to synergize with BBR. Interestingly, we found that the efflux of intracellular BBR was FLC independent but strongly glucose dependent and associated with the drug efflux pump Cdr2p. These results suggest that BBR plays a major antifungal role in the synergism of FLC and BBR, while FLC plays a role in increasing the intracellular BBR concentration.

Bacteriocins ofBacillus thuringiensiscan expand the potential of this bacterium to other areas rather than limit its use only as microbial insecticide

Various strains of Bacillus thuringiensis are among the most successful entomopathogenic bacteria used commercially as biopesticides owing to their ability to synthesize insecticidal crystal (Cry) and cytolytic (Cyt) protein toxins during sporulation, and vegetative insecticidal (VIPs) proteins during the vegetative phase of growth. Whereas much is known about the molecular biology of Cry, Cyt, and VIPs, comparatively little is known about other proteins and metabolites synthesized by B. thuringiensis that could also have applied value. Here, we review recent reports on bacteriocins synthesized by this bacterium as they relate to antibacterial activity, molecular genetics, biophysical and biochemical properties, and methods used to separate and purify these antimicrobial peptides. We highlight the potential of bacteriocins for use as food preservatives, antibiotics, plant protection, and plant growth promoters. We suggest that B. thuringiensis could be used not only in biological control of insects but also in other agronomical and industrial areas of public interest.

Expanding the use of a fluorogenic method to determine activity and mode of action of Bacillus thuringiensis bacteriocins against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

Previously we described a rapid fluorogenic method to measure the activity of five bacteriocins produced by Mexican strains of Bacillus thuringiensis against B. cereus 183. Here we standardize this method to efficiently determine the activity of bacteriocins against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It was determined that the crucial parameter required to obtain reproducible results was the number of cells used in the assay, that is, ~4 × 10⁸ cell/mL and ~7 × 10⁸ cell/mL, respectively, for target Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Comparative analyses of the fluorogenic and traditional well-diffusion assays showed correlation coefficients of 0.88 to 0.99 and 0.83 to 0.99, respectively, for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The fluorogenic method demonstrated that the five bacteriocins of B. thuringiensis have bacteriolytic and bacteriostatic activities against all microorganisms tested, including clinically significant bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Proteus vulgaris, and Shigella flexneri reported previously to be resistant to the antimicrobials as determined using the well-diffusion protocol. These results demonstrate that the fluorogenic assay is a more sensitive, reliable, and rapid method when compared with the well-diffusion method and can easily be adapted in screening protocols for bacteriocin production by other microorganisms.

Isolation of a new Mexican strain of Bacillus subtilis with antifungal and antibacterial activities

Although several strains of B. subtilis with antifungal activity have been isolated worldwide, to date there are no published reports regarding the isolation of a native B. subtilis strain from strawberry plants in Mexico. A native bacterium (Bacillus subtilis 21) demonstrated in vitro antagonistic activity against different plant pathogenic fungi. Under greenhouse conditions, it was shown that plants infected with Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium verticillioides and treated with B. subtilis 21 produced augment in the number of leaves per plant and an increment in the length of healthy leaves in comparison with untreated plants. In addition, B. subtilis 21 showed activity against pathogenic bacteria. Secreted proteins by B. subtilis 21 were studied, detecting the presence of proteases and bacteriocin-like inhibitor substances that could be implicated in its antagonistic activity. Chitinases and zwittermicin production could not be detected. Then, B. subtilis 21 could potentially be used to control phytopathogenic fungi that infect strawberry plants.

Effects of physical culture parameters on bacteriocin production by Mexican strains of Bacillus thuringiensis after cellular induction

We have shown previously that in the presence of inducer Bacillus cereus 183, significant increases in bacteriocin production and bactericidal activity of B. thuringiensis occur when the latter is cultivated at pH 7.2, 28°C, and 180 rpm. Here we show that this activity can be further improved when B. thuringiensis is induced with B. cereus 183 and then cultivated with modification of pH, temperature, and agitation. Five native strains of B. thuringiensis, LBIT 269, LBIT 287, LBIT 404, LBIT 420, and LBIT 524 which synthesize, respectively, morricin 269, kurstacin 287, kenyacin 404, entomocin 420, and tolworthcin 524, were cultivated in four different fermentation media. Of these, fermentation in tryptic soy broth (TSB) yielded the highest level of bacteriocin activity (~100–133 FU). Bacteria grown in TSB were induced with B. cereus 183 and cultivated at different pH (6.0, 7.2, 8.0), temperature (26, 28, 30°C), and agitation (150, 180, 210 rpm). Full factorial design was performed and results were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey multiple comparison tests at significant level of α ≤ 0.05 to study the influence of the three variables on bacterial growth and bacteriocin production. Our data show that the highest bacteriocin activity was found with LBIT 269 and LBIT 404 with an increase of ~95–100% compared with induced B. thuringiensis strains cultivated under fixed conditions (pH 7.2, 28°C, 180 rpm), for which the data were set at 0%. The optimal conditions for morricin 269 and kenyacin 404 production were, respectively, pH 8, 30°C, 210 rpm and pH 7.2, 26°C, 210 rpm.

Effect of the vitamin B12-binding protein haptocorrin present in human milk on a panel of commensal and pathogenic bacteria

Background

Haptocorrin is a vitamin B12-binding protein present in high amounts in different body fluids including human milk. Haptocorrin has previously been shown to inhibit the growth of specific E. coli strains, and the aim of the present study was to elucidate whether the antibacterial properties of this protein may exert a general defense against pathogens and/or affect the composition of the developing microbiota in the gastrointestinal tracts of breastfed infants.

Findings

The present work was the first systematic study of the effect of haptocorrin on bacterial growth, and included 34 commensal and pathogenic bacteria to which infants are likely to be exposed. Well-diffusion assays addressing antibacterial effects were performed with human milk, haptocorrin-free human milk, porcine holo-haptocorrin (saturated with B-12) and human apo-haptocorrin (unsaturated). Human milk inhibited the growth of S. thermophilus and the pathogenic strains L. monocytogenes LO28, L. monocytogenes 4446 and L. monocytogenes 7291, but the inhibition could not be ascribed to haptocorrin. Human apo-haptocorrin inhibited the growth of only a single bacterial strain (Bifidobacterium breve), while porcine holo-haptocorrin did not show any inhibitory effect.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that haptocorrin does not have a general antibacterial activity, and thereby contradict the existing hypothesis implicating such an effect. The study contributes to the knowledge on the potential impact of breastfeeding on the establishment of a healthy microbiota in infants.

Activity of bacteriocins synthesized by Bacillus thuringiensis against Staphylococcus aureus isolates associated to bovine mastitis

Antimicrobial therapy is a useful tool to control bovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus, as consequence an increase in staphylococci resistant cases has been registered. Alternative strategies are desirable and bacteriocins represent attractive control agents to prevent bovine mastitis. The aim of this work was to evaluate the activity of five bacteriocins synthesized by Bacillus thuringiensis against S. aureus isolates associated to bovine mastitis. Fifty S. aureus isolates were recovered from milk composite samples of 26 Holstein lactating cows from one herd during September 2007 to February 2008 in México and susceptibility of those isolates to 12 antibiotics and 5 bacteriocins from B. thuringiensis was evaluated. S. aureus isolates were mainly resistant to penicillin (92%), dicloxacillin (86%), ampicillin (74%) and erythromycin (74%); whereas susceptibility to gentamicin, trimethoprim and tetracycline was detected at, respectively, 92%, 88%, and 72%. All S. aureus isolates showed susceptibility to the five bacteriocins synthesized by B. thuringiensis, mainly to morricin 269 and kurstacin 287 followed by kenyacin 404, entomocin 420 and tolworthcin 524. Our results showed that S. aureus isolates had differences in the antimicrobial resistance patterns and were susceptible to bacteriocins produced by B. thuringiensis, which could be useful as an alternative method to control bovine mastitis.