Bacteriocin production by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans isolated from the oral cavity of humans with periodontal disease, periodontally healthy subjects and marmosets

• Published in: Research in microbiology Vol. 153; no. 1; pp. 45 - 52
• Main Authors: Lima, Francisca Lúcia, Farias, Flávio F, Costa, José Eustáquio, Carvalho, Maria Auxiliadora R, Alviano, Celuta S, Farias, Luiz M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Elsevier SAS 01.01.2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans; Actinobacillus Infections - microbiology; Actinobacillus Infections - veterinary; Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans - growth & development; Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans - isolation & purification; Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans - metabolism; Animals; Antagonistic substance; Antibiosis; Bacteriocin; Bacteriocins - biosynthesis; Bacteriocins - pharmacology; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Callithrix - microbiology; Dental Plaque - microbiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gram-Negative Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Negative Bacteria - growth & development; Gram-Positive Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Positive Bacteria - growth & development; Humans; Marmosets; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Monkey Diseases - microbiology; Mouth - microbiology; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Periodontal disease; Periodontal Diseases - microbiology; Periodontal Diseases - veterinary; Marmosets; Periodontal disease; Antagonistic substance; Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans; Bacteriocin; Callithrix jacchus; Biosynthesis; Pasteurellaceae; Characterization; Oral cavity; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Primates; Simioidea; Bacteria; Periodontopathy; Antagonist
• DOI: 10.1016/S0923-2508(01)01285-2
• ISSN: 0923-2508

The ability of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans to produce bacteriocin has rarely been reported. Antagonistic substance production may confer an important ecological advantage for the producer microorganisms, especially in a competitive ecosystem such as the oral cavity. In the present study, 75 A. actinomycetemcomitans strains isolated from the oral cavity of human patients with periodontal disease, periodontally healthy subjects and marmosets, as well as two reference strains ( A. actinomycetemcomitans ATCC 29523 and FDC Y4) were evaluated for auto-, iso-, and heteroantagonistic activity. Fifty-one (68.00%) strains exhibited antagonistic activity; heteroantagonism was observed more often than isoantagonism. Isolated strains antagonized 17 different species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria from the oral and nonoral microbiota. Sensitivity to heat and to proteolytic enzymes constituted strong evidence that the antagonistic substance has a proteic nature. Taken together, our data enabled us to confirm that the antagonistic substance detected was a bacteriocin. The wide spectrum of activity indicates the possibility that more than one antagonistic substance is produced and that these substances play an important role in the ecological balance of the oral ecosystem.