epidermin and lanthionine

A novel lantibiotic identified during the screening of 187 coagulase-negative staphylococci, has been structurally characterised. (Val1, Leu6)-epidermin was purified from culture supernatants of two Staphylococcus epidermidis strains, BN-V1 and BN-V301 following successive separation by adsorption, cation exchange and C18 reversed-phase chromatography. Separation of the purified peptides by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis suggested a molecular mass of ca. 2000 Da and electrospray mass spectrometry subsequently demonstrated that both peptides had a mass of 2151 Da; a mass which is different from that of all previously described antimicrobial peptides. Amino acid analysis showed that both peptides contained lanthionine and were very similar to epidermin, while automated N-terminal sequencing by Edman degradation confirmed the identity of the two peptides as a natural variant of the antimicrobial lantibiotic epidermin, and demonstrated the conservative amino acid exchanges in positions one and six.

Topics: Alanine; Amino Acid Sequence; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Proteins; Bacteriocins; Coagulase; Genetic Variation; Mass Spectrometry; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptides; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Sulfides

The production of the lanthionine-containing polypeptide antibiotics gallidermin from Staphylococcus gallinarum TU 3928 and pep 5 from S. epidermidis 5 is investigated with respect to regulation and stimulation of productivity by media components, optimization of both the media used and the fermentation process and is compared to the production of the lantibiotic epidermin from S. epidermidis TU 3298. Efficient methods for rapid quantification of lantibiotics, optimization of the media and a primary enrichment by adsorption chromatography are reported.

Topics: Alanine; Amino Acid Sequence; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteriocins; Chromatography, Gel; Culture Media; Fermentation; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptide Biosynthesis; Peptides; Peptides, Cyclic; Staphylococcus; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Sulfides

Gallidermin is a new member of the class of lanthionine-containing peptide antibiotics, which are summarized under the common name lantibiotics. The lantibiotic gallidermin is produced by Staphylococcus gallinarum (F16/P57) Tü3928, and it exhibits activities against the Propionibacteria, involved in acne disease. Gallidermin differs from the recently discovered tetracyclic 21-residue peptide antibiotic epidermin only in a Leu/Ile exchange in position 6. The isolation procedures for gallidermin included adsorption directly from the culture broth, ion-exchange chromatography of the amphiphilic and basic polypeptide followed by desalting, and final purification by reversed-phase HPLC. The structural elucidation of the polypeptide containing four thioether bridges involved mainly a combination of automated gas-phase sequencing, thermospray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry.

Topics: Alanine; Amino Acid Sequence; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacteriocins; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Ion Exchange; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Molecular Sequence Data; Peptides; Peptides, Cyclic; Staphylococcus; Sulfides