Comparison of the activities of the lantibiotics nisin and lacticin 3147 against clinically significant mycobacteria

Carroll, James; Draper, Lorraine A.; O’Connor, Paula M.; Coffey, Aidan; Hill, Colin; Ross, R. Paul; Cotter, Paul D.; O’Mahony, Jim

doi:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2010.03.029

« Previous Next »International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents
Volume 36, Issue 2 , Pages 132-136, August 2010

Comparison of the activities of the lantibiotics nisin and lacticin 3147 against clinically significant mycobacteria

James Carroll
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland
Lorraine A. Draper
- Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, College Road, Cork, Ireland
Paula M. O’Connor
- Moorepark Food Research Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland
Aidan Coffey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland
Colin Hill
- Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, College Road, Cork, Ireland
- Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, Cork, Ireland
R. Paul Ross
- Moorepark Food Research Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland
- Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, Cork, Ireland
Paul D. Cotter
- Moorepark Food Research Centre, Teagasc, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland
- Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, Cork, Ireland
Jim O’Mahony
- Department of Biological Sciences, Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +353 21 432 6833.

Received 16 February 2010; accepted 25 March 2010. published online 24 May 2010.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to use the microtitre alamarBlue assay to investigate and compare the antimycobacterial potential of the lantibiotics nisin and lacticin 3147 against a representative cohort of clinically significant mycobacteria, i.e. Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) ATCC 19698 and Mycobacterium kansasii CIT11/06. Lacticin 3147 displayed potent activity against all strains of mycobacteria, with MIC₉₀ values (lowest concentration of lantibiotic that prevented growth of >90% of the bacterial population) of 60mg/L and 15mg/L for M. kansasii and MAP, respectively. Lacticin 3147 was particularly effective against M. tuberculosis H37Ra, with a MIC₉₀ value of 7.5mg/L. Nisin, although inhibitory, was generally less potent against all strains of mycobacteria, with MIC₉₀ values of 60mg/L for M. kansasii and >60mg/L for MAP and M. tuberculosis H37Ra. Thus, lacticin 3147 is a potent antimycobacterial peptide that shows superior activity compared with nisin at physiological pH.