Abstract
Haloarchaea grow in the extreme environment, such as high salt concentration, and secrete antimicrobial peptides known as halocins. Identification of Haloferax larsenii strain HA1 was carried out using biochemical and molecular methods. Strain HA1 was found as a strict aerobe, catalase positive and Gram negative. It was able to grow optimally at 15 % NaCl (w/v), 42 °C and pH 7.2. Strain HA1 was sensitive to bile acid, was resistant to chloramphenicol and could not utilize arginine. Halocin, produced by strain HA1, was stable up to 100 °C and in a pH range of 5.0–9.0. Antimicrobial activity was not affected by organic solvents, surfactants and detergents, but it was completely lost in the presence of proteinase K, suggesting proteinaceous nature of the compound. It was halocidal against indicator strain Hfx. larsenii HA10. The molecular weight of halocin HA1 was found to be ~14 kDa. These properties of halocin HA1 may be applicable to the preservation of salted foods.
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Acknowledgments
This work and VK were financially supported by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi-110012, India [Scheme No. 38(1220)/09/EMR-II]. The facilities provided by UGC-SAP, UGC-innovative and DST-FIST, Department of Genetics, M. D. University, Rohtak, are acknowledged.
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Communicated by Harald Huber.
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Kumar, V., Saxena, J. & Tiwari, S.K. Description of a halocin-producing Haloferax larsenii HA1 isolated from Pachpadra salt lake in Rajasthan. Arch Microbiol 198, 181–192 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-015-1175-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-015-1175-3