Abstract
Lactic acid bacteria produce a variety of antimicrobial substances which are important in food fermentation and preservation. In several instances, the inhibitory activity results from metabolic end products such as hydrogen peroxide, diacetyl, and organic acids (Lindgren & Dobrogosz, 1990). In addition, the bactericidal activity of many strains appeared to result from bacteriocin production (Klaenhammer, 1988). Although bacteriocins of lactic acid bacteria have been the subject of many studies, only little is known about their chemical structure, their mode of action, and their genetic determinants. In recent years, the increasing interest in bacteriocins produced by these organisms has resulted in the cloning and genetic characterization of several bacteriocin determinants (Joerger & Klaenhammer, 1990; Marugg, 1991; Muriana & Klaenhammer, 1991). From lactococci, the structural gene for the lantibiotic nisin has been cloned and sequenced by several groups (Buchman et al., 1988; Kaletta & Entian, 1989; Dodd et al., 1990). The genetic determinant for bacteriocin production byLactococcus lactis subsp. lactis WM4 was shown to be associated with the 131-kb plasmid pNP2 (Scherwitz et al., 1983). Cloning experiments inL. lactis identified an 18.4-kb DNA region containing the bacteriocin determinant (Scherwitz-Harmon & McKay, 1987).
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© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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van Belkum, M.J. et al. (1992). Lactococcal Bacteriocins: Genetics and Mode of Action. In: James, R., Lazdunski, C., Pattus, F. (eds) Bacteriocins, Microcins and Lantibiotics. NATO ASI Series, vol 65. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76974-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76974-0_7
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