Access to this article is restricted until 6 months after publication by request of the publisher. Restriction lift date: 2024-11-10
Bacteriocin diversity, function, discovery and application as antimicrobials
Loading...
Files
Date
2024-05-10
Authors
Sugrue, Ivan
Ross, R. Paul
Hill, Colin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Nature
Published Version
Abstract
Bacteriocins are potent antimicrobial peptides that are produced by bacteria. Since their discovery almost a century ago, diverse peptides have been discovered and described, and some are currently used as commercial food preservatives. Many bacteriocins exhibit extensively post-translationally modified structures encoded on complex gene clusters, whereas others have simple linear structures. The molecular structures, mechanisms of action and resistance have been determined for a number of bacteriocins, but most remain incompletely characterized. These gene-encoded peptides are amenable to bioengineering strategies and heterologous expression, enabling metagenomic mining and modification of novel antimicrobials. The ongoing global antimicrobial resistance crisis demands that novel therapeutics be developed to combat infectious pathogens. New compounds that are target-specific and compatible with the resident microbiota would be valuable alternatives to current antimicrobials. As bacteriocins can be broad or narrow spectrum in nature, they are promising tools for this purpose. However, few bacteriocins have gone beyond preclinical trials and none is currently used therapeutically in humans. In this Review, we explore the broad diversity in bacteriocin structure and function, describe identification and optimization methods and discuss the reasons behind the lack of translation beyond the laboratory of these potentially valuable antimicrobials.
Description
Keywords
Bacteriocins , Antimicrobial , Infectious pathogens
Citation
Sugrue, I., Ross, R. P. and Hill, C. (2024) 'Bacteriocin diversity, function, discovery and application as antimicrobials', Nature Reviews Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01045-x
Link to publisher’s version
Copyright
© 2024, Springer Nature Limited. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-024-01045-x