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Mechanism of action of a novel recombinant peptide, MP1102, against Clostridium perfringens type C

  • Applied microbial and cell physiology
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Abstract

This work is the first to report the antibacterial characteristics and antibacterial mechanisms of MP1102, which is a variant of NZ2114, against pathogenic Clostridium perfringens. MP1102 exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against C. perfringens strains CVCC 61, CVCC 1163, and CVCC 2032 at a low minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.91 μM. MP1102 showed anti-C. perfringens activity over a wide pH range of 2.0 and 10.0, high thermal stability from 20 to 80 °C, and remarkable resistance to pepsin. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) indicated an additive or synergic effect between MP1102 and bacitracin zinc, nisin, vancomycin, virginiamycin, aureomycin, and ampicillin against C. perfringens (FICI = 0.3125–1.0). To further elucidate the antibacterial mechanism of MP1102, its effect on the C. perfringens CVCC 61 cell membrane and intracellular DNA was studied. Flow cytometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that MP1102 treatment resulted in the release of cellular contents by damaging the membrane. A DNA gel retardation and circular dichroism analysis demonstrated that MP1102 interacted with DNA and intercalated into the DNA base pairs. A cell cycle assay demonstrated that MP1102 affected cellular functions, such as DNA synthesis. These results suggested that MP1102 exhibited potential as a new antimicrobial agent against C. perfringens infections.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledged technicians Ms. Tong Zhao and Mr. Chunli Li from the Core Facility at the Institute of Microbiology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for their technical support with the flow cytometric and SEM analyses. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31572445, 31372346, 31572444 and 31302004), the Project of the National Support Program for Sci & Technol in China (No. 2013BAD10B02 and No. 2011BAD26 B02), the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest in China (No.201403047), the Basic Research Fund for Central Public Institutes in China (No.0032015030) and the AMP Direction of Innovation Program of Agric Sci & Tech in CAAS (CAAS-ASTIP-2013-FRI-02).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Feed Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Lifen Zong, Da Teng, Xiumin Wang, Ruoyu Mao, Na Yang, Ya Hao & Jianhua Wang

  2. Gene Engineering Laboratory, Feed Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 12 Zhongguancun Nandajie St., Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, People’s Republic of China

    Lifen Zong, Da Teng, Xiumin Wang, Ruoyu Mao, Na Yang, Ya Hao & Jianhua Wang

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  1. Lifen Zong
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Correspondence to Da Teng or Jianhua Wang.

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Zong, L., Teng, D., Wang, X. et al. Mechanism of action of a novel recombinant peptide, MP1102, against Clostridium perfringens type C. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 5045–5057 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7387-x

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