Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is one of gram-positive foodborne pathogens with a very high fatality rate. Unlike most foodborne pathogens, L. monocytogenes is capable of growing at low temperatures, such as in refrigerated foods. Thus, various physical and chemical prevention methods are used in the manufacturing, processing and distribution of food. However, there are limitations to the methods such as possible changes to the food quality and the consumer awareness of synthetic preservatives. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-listeria activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from kimchi and characterize the bacteriocin produced by Lactococcus lactis which is one of isolated strains from kimchi. The analysis on the anti-listeria activity of a total of 36 species (Lactobacillus, Weissella, Lactobacillus, and Lactococcus) isolated from kimchi by the agar overlay method revealed that L. lactis NJ 1-10 and NJ 1-16 had the highest anti-listeria activity. For quantitatively analysis on the anti-listeria activity, NJ 1-10 and NJ 1-16 were co-cultured with L. monocytogenes in Brain Heat Infusion (BHI) broth, respectively. As a result, L. monocytogenes was reduced by 3.0 log CFU/mL in 20 h, lowering the number of bacteria to below the detection limit. Both LAB strains showed anti-listeria activity against 24 serotypes of L. monocytogenes, although the sizes of clear zone was slightly different. No clear zone was observed when the supernatants of both LAB cultures were treated with proteinase- K, indicating that their anti-listerial activities might be due to the production of bacteriocins. Heat stability of the partially purified bacteriocins of NJ 1-10 and NJ 1-16 was relatively stable at 60oC and 80oC. Yet, their anti-listeria activities were completely lost by 60 min of treatment at 100oC and 15 min of treatment at 121oC. The analysis on the pH stability showed that their anti-listeria activities were the most stable at pH 4.01, and decreased with the increasing pH value, yet, was not completely lost. Partially purified bacteriocins showed relatively stable anti-listeria activities in acetone, ethanol, and methanol, but their activities were reduced after chloroform treatment, yet was not completely lost. Conclusively, this study revealed that the bacteriocins produced by NJ 1-10 and NJ 1-16 effectively reduced L. monocytogenes, and that they were relatively stable against heat, pH, and organic solvents, therefore implying their potential as a natural antibacterial substance for controlling L. monocytogenes in food.

박테리오신은 다양한 식품에서 천연 보존제로 그리고 항생제 대체제로 잠재력을 가지고 있다. 그러나 박테리오신의 다단계 정제 공정은 높은 생산 비용을 야기하여 상업적 이용 등 소비자 접근성에 장애요인이 되고있다. 식품 등 일부 산업 분야에서 활용하기 위한 박테리오신의 순도는 그리 높지 않아도 되며, 이에 따라 정제 공정을 간소화하여 생산 비용을 낮추고 공정 효율성을 강화할 수 있다. 이러한 관점에서 박테리오신 등에 적용할 수 있는 수성- 이상계 시스템(ATPS)은 높은 정제 수율과 빠른 처리 시간으로 인해 산업분야에서 하부 공정 처리 기술로 적절한 대안이 될 수 있으며, 고분자 수용액이 70~90% 물로 이루어진 친환경적 기술로서 환경보호에도 도움을 줄 것으로 전망된다.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is characterized by its ability to synthesize crystal toxins and also able to produce bacteriocins such as thuricin, tochicin, entomocin and bacthuricin. The present work, for the first time, describes the biological activity of bacteriocins from B. thuringiensis subsp. cameroun (Btc). Supernatant which was produced from a liquid culture of Btc had antimicrobial activity against various Bt subspecies, ending up to making a inhibition zone on an agar medium. A significant reduction in antimicrobial activity was observed when the supernatant was exposed to heat at 47~50°C for 15 min. Proteins were separated from the supernatant by a fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) given the thermal instability. A group of FPLC fractions had antimicrobial activity against Bt subsp. palmanyolensis, israelensis, 1-3, morrisoni, toguchini and kurstaki and a Bacillus. cereus ATCC21768, ATCC14579 and NRRLB-569. Interestingly, when the supernatant was individually incorporated into the liquid cultures of Bt subsp. israelensis (Bti) and mogi (Btm) with mosquitocidal activity, a vegetative cell growth was observed only in the Btm culture 10 h post-incubation. A possible recovery of vegetative Btm cell growth was observed, compared to a control without the supernatant. These results suggest that Btc produced proteinous antimicrobial substances, one of which may be used as a selection marker to separate Btm after possibly conjugating the two mosquitocidal strains.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is characterized by its ability to synthesize crystal toxins and also able to produce bacteriocins such as thuricin, tochicin, entomocin and bacthuricin. The present work, for the first time, describes the biological activity of bacteriocins from B. thuringiensis subsp. cameroun (Btc). Supernatant which was produced from a liquid culture of Btc had antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, ending up to making a inhibition zone on an agar medium. A significant reduction in antimicrobial activity was observed when the supernatant was exposed to heat at 75~100°C for 15 min. Proteins were separated from the supernatant by a fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) given the thermal instability. A group of FPLC fractions had antimicrobial activity against Bt subsp. palmanyolensis, israelensis, 1-3, morrisoni, toguchini and kurstaki, and B. cereus ACTC21768, ATCC14579 and NRRLB-569. Interestingly, when the supernatant was individually incorporated into the liquid cultures of Bt subsp. israelensis (Bti) and mogi (Btm) with mosquitocidal activity, a vegetative cell growth was observed only in the Btm culture 10 h post-incubation. A possible recovery of vegetative Btm cell growth was observed, compared to a control without the supernatant. These results suggest that Btc produced proteinous antimicrobial substances, one of which may be used as a selection marker to separate Btm after possibly conjugating the two mosquitocidal strains.

One hundred one enterococcal isolates from feces of livestock animals in Korea were screened for the presence of bacteriocins. Sixteen of 41 (39%) E. faecalis and 4 of 56 (7.1%) E. faecium isolates showed antimicrobial activity against at least one indicator strain. Only 4 of 20 the enterococcal isolates showing antimicrobial activity possessed at least one bacteriocin gene. While entA and entB were detected in three isolates as a pair of genotype, entQ, bac31, and AS-48 were not found in the enterococcal isolates. In almost all isolates, a correlation between genotype and phenotype of these determinants was not always observed.

Lactic acid bacteria produce different types of inhibitory compound that have a bactericidal effect. The inhibitory compounds produced include metabolic end products, bacteriocins that are antimicrobial peptides with antibiotic effect, hydrogen peroxides and numerous organic acids depending on their fermentation pathway. The inhibitory activity by bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria is diverse, comprising of strains capable of inhibiting different types of Gram-positive microorganisms to those that affect only organism of close general. With the growing concern over the spread of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and the possibility of current therapies becoming inefficient, it is imperative to find antibiotics alternatives. In food preservation, naturally occurring peptides with antimicrobial activity are favoured over chemical preservatives a more reason why there should be a holistic approach to taking advantage of bacteriocinogenic bacteria in medicine and food industry. This review focuses on the application of bacteriocin in food preservation, food industry, livestock and medicine.

Foodborne disease caused by pathogenic bacteria is one of main concerns in food industry. To supply safe food products, chemical and thermal intervention technologies have been widely applied in food industry, however these treatments have their own limitations. The concept of biopreservation has recently received increased attention in response to industrial and consumer demands. The biopreservation technologies mainly include bacteriocin, bacteriophage, bacteriophage-encoded enzymes, and endolysins. Among them, bacteriocins have been widely recognized as a main biopreservative and have also been most studied. Bacteriocins, mainly consisting of antibacterial peptides, may have bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect which could prolong the shelf-life as well as maintain safety of foods. This review article offers a brief research trend about bacteriocins, focusing on microbial food safety. The antimicrobial mechanism of bacteriocins has been discussed and some efforts to inactivate foodborne pathogens have been analyzed in this review article. The challenges facing the application of bacteriocins have also been evaluated. Thus, this review will provide insights for researchers working in bacteriocin as well as industry personnel looking for a new method for fighting foodborne pathogens.

김치는 한국을 대표하는 젖산발효식품으로 현재까지 김치에서 분리한 다양한 유산균종들이 생산하는 박테리오신에 대한 연구가 진행되어왔다. Lactococcus, Lactobacillus,Leuconostoc 및 Pediococcus 속 균주들이 여기에 속하며, 특이한 점은 이들 김치 유래 박테리오신은 김치 산패균으로알려진 Lactobacillus plantarum을 지시균으로 사용하여 대부분 탐색되었다. 이들 박테리오신은 유산균과 Listeria mo-nocytogenes을 포함한 그람양성균에 대하여 항균활성을 나타냈으며, 이들 중 몇몇은 E. coli 및 Salmonella Typhimu-rium과 같은 그람음성균에 대하여도 항균활성을 나타냈다.또한 이들이 생산하는 박테리오신은 대부분 class II에 속하는 저분자량의 박테리오신으로 pH 및 열에 매우 안정한특성을 나타내었다. 하지만 이들 중 Lactobacillus paraplan-tarum C7가 생산하는 paraplantaricin C7만이 신규 박테리오신으로 이들 박테리오신의 아미노산 서열 분석 및 박테리오신 생산 유전자의 유전학적 해명은 비교적 잘 알려지지 않았다. 앞으로 다양한 종류의 김치 시료로부터 신규 박테리오신 생산 균주의 탐색 및 김치의 metagenome 정보를기초로 한 신규 박테리오신 유전자 확보 등의 연구가 진행되어야 할 것으로 생각된다.