The capability of Lactococcus lactis to produce nisin in the presence of bile in the intestinal environment remains an intriguing question. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of bile on production of nisin and the mRNA expression of nisin genes of L. lactis W8. The strain L. lactis W8 was grown on glucose in the absence and presence of bile (0.005-0.08 %) and the antibacterial activities of culture supernatants were determined. In culture with 0.035 % bile, the nisin activity was significantly reduced (400 AU/mL) within 5 h compared to that in the control without bile (2000 AU/mL), while growth of the cells was only slightly affected. In the presence of 0.07 % bile no nisin activity of the strain was manifested. Consistent with these results, mRNA expression of nisin-biosynthetic genes nisZ, nisRK, nisI, and nisF was down-regulated by 7.5-, 2.5-, 1.7-, and 6.0-fold, respectively in cells grown in the presence of bile (0.07 %) as compared to control culture without bile. The present study suggested that bile inhibited transcription of nisin genes. Nisin-production in intestine by orally administered L. lactis, thus, does not occur since complete inhibition of nisin-production by bile is observed at a concentration much lower than the physiological concentration (0.3 %) of bile present in the human intestine. The molecular mechanism underlying the bile-mediated inhibition of nisin genes remains to be elucidated. This is the first report on bile-mediated inhibition of nisin genes.