Screening of a bacteriocin-producing Bifidobacterium with antibacterial activity against Clostridium difficile (#409)
Bacteriocins
are secreted proteins produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in early stationary
phase of growth, which can inhibit the growth of similar or closely related
bacteria. In this study, we attempted to screen Bifidobacterium isolate
that produced bacteriocin exhibiting antibacterial activity against Clostridium
difficile. Among 800 LAB strains isolated from calf fecal samples, 620 strains
(77.5%) exhibited antimicrobial activity against C. difficile, of which
21/620 were identified as Bifidobacterium sp. Neutralized cell-free
supernatant (NCFS) of the selected Bifidobacterium isolate, BD-1, showed
an antimicrobial effect against not only drug resistant C. difficile (strain
630) but also Bacillus subtilis, Pediococcus pentosaceus and E.
coli ETEC. The maximum growth observed by optical density was reached
approximately 5.8 after 18 h of incubation. Furthermore, the production of
antimicrobial compound was found at the late exponential phase of growth (12h)
and reached a maximum activity during the stationary phase. The anti-bacterial
property of the NCFS fraction of the BD-1 strain was heat (100ÂșC for
30 min) and pH-stable (pH 3-9); however, it was sensitive to protease treatment.
Our findings suggested that the substance(s) in NCFS of Bifidobacterium
isolate BD-1 could potentially be a bacteriocin and may be a good candidate for
alternative antimicrobial agents to treat C. difficile infection.