Antibacterial properties of serum from the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Treatment of alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and human serum samples with Escherichia coli resulted in a time- and concentration-dependent inhibition of bacterial proliferation. When inoculated with E. coli, alligator serum exhibited 10-fold lower bacterial survival rates after 1 h than human serum. In addition, the antibacterial spectrum of alligator serum was shown to be much broader than that of human serum, with growth inhibition occurring in 100% of bacterial strains tested (compared to only 35% for human serum). Additional results showed that the antimicrobial activities of alligator serum could be completely inhibited by preincubation with proteases, indicating the proteinaceous nature of the antimicrobial activities. Furthermore, incubation of alligator serum at 56 degrees C for 30 min (classical human serum complement inactivation conditions) obliterated all antimicrobial properties of the alligator serum. The antibacterial activities occurred relatively quickly in vitro, with significant activity occurring within 5 min of inoculation with E. coli and maximal activity at 20 min. Also, the antimicrobial activity exhibited temperature dependence, with a substantial decrease in activity below 15 degrees C. These data suggest that the antimicrobial properties of alligator serum may be due to an active serum complement system.