Leuconostoc lactis strain APC 3969 produces a new variant of cyclic bacteriocin leucocyclicin Q and displays potent anti-Clostridium perfringens activity
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Published Version
Date
2025
Authors
de Farias, Felipe Miceli
Soria, Maria Cecilia
O’Connor, Paula M.
Huang, Xiaohui
Buttimer, Colin
Kamilari, Eleni
Deliephan, Aiswariya
Hill, Daragh
Fursenko, Oxana
Wiese, Jonathan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nature Research
Published Version
Abstract
Clostridium perfringens is an important foodborne pathogen that produces diverse toxins and is often associated with foodborne gastroenteritis. In this sense, novel biopreservatives with anti-C. perfringens activity are of interest. Among them, bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria stand out as potential candidates. This study describes leucocyclicin C, a novel variant of the bacteriocin leucocyclicin Q, capable of inhibiting C. perfringens. The bacteriocin comprises 61 amino acids, has a molecular mass of 6,081.44 Da, and is produced by the strain Leuconostoc lactis APC 3969. Like many circular bacteriocins, leucocyclicin C has a broad spectrum of activity, is protease resistant, and has high stability against thermic and pH stresses. The leucocyclicin C genetic cluster comprises ten genes instead of the five genes previously described for leucocyclicin Q. Also, this genetic cluster seems to be part of a putative composite transposon. Leucocyclicin C has a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 3.288 µM against C. perfringens, comparable with other antimicrobial peptides. These results suggest that leucocyclicin C has the potential as a biopreservative for controlling C. perfringens in food. © The Author(s) 2025.
Description
Keywords
Circular bacteriocin , Clostridium perfringens , Leucocyclicin C , Leuconostoc lactis , Variant
Citation
de Farias, F. M., Soria, M. C., O’Connor, P. M., Huang, X., Buttimer, C., Kamilari, E., Deliephan, A., Hill, D., Fursenko, O., Wiese, J. and Draper, L. (2025) 'Leuconostoc lactis strain APC 3969 produces a new variant of cyclic bacteriocin leucocyclicin Q and displays potent anti-Clostridium perfringens activity', Scientific Reports, 15(1), p.6372. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-89450-x