S105: Antimicrobial peptides of bacteria associated with fermented dairy foods: Potential for applications

Dairy fermentation lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been shown to produce natural antimicrobial peptides called bacteriocins with activity against select food-borne pathogens.  Since these ribosomally synthesized peptides are produced by “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS) category bacteria, they are considered food-grade and have the potential to serve as natural food preservatives.  At the present, nisin, a Class I lantibiotic, is the only bacteriocin approved for use as a food preservative in several countries throughout the world.  However, other bacteriocins also are produced by LAB associated with fermented dairy foods including: lactococci, streptococci and enterococci.  Some of these bacteriocins have potential for food industrial applications due to their broad spectra of activity against spoilage bacteria and food-borne pathogens, such as Listeria.  In addition to the naturally produced bacteriocins, a great deal of effort has gone into developing recombinant LAB hosts for the production of heterologous bacteriocins with the hope of improving gene expression and the level of bacteriocin production, and increasing their potential for applications in different food environments.