Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2012 Dec 1;40(6):1492-7. doi: 10.1042/BST20120193.
Bacteriocins are bacterially produced peptides or proteins that inhibit the growth of other bacterial strains. They can have a broad (effective against multiple genera) or narrow (effective against specific species) spectrum of activity. The diversity of bacteriocins found in Nature, in terms of both spectrum of activity and physiochemical properties, offers the possibility of multiple applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, traditional screening strategies may not provide a sufficient range of natural molecules with specifically desired properties. Research suggests that bioengineering of existing inhibitors has the potential to address this issue, extending the application of natural bacteriocins for use in novel settings and against different targets. In the present paper, we discuss the successful implementation of bioengineering strategies to alter and even improve the functional characteristics of a bacteriocin, using the prototypical lantibiotic nisin as an example. Additionally, we describe the recent use of the nisin-modification machinery in vivo to enhance the properties of medically significant peptides.
细菌素是由细菌产生的肽或蛋白质，可抑制其他细菌菌株的生长。它们可以具有广谱（对多种属有效）或窄谱（对特定物种有效）的活性。自然界中发现的细菌素有多种多样性，无论是在活性谱还是生理化学性质方面，都为食品和制药行业的多种应用提供了可能性。然而，传统的筛选策略可能无法提供具有特定所需特性的足够范围的天然分子。研究表明，对现有抑制剂进行生物工程改造有可能解决这个问题，从而扩展天然细菌素的应用，使其在新环境中针对不同的目标使用。在本文中，我们将以典型的类细菌素乳链菌肽为例，讨论成功实施生物工程策略来改变甚至改善细菌素的功能特性。此外，我们还描述了最近在体内使用乳链菌肽修饰机制来增强具有医学意义的肽的特性。
