Thermophilin 110: A Bacteriocin of Streptococcus thermophilus ST110

A screen of thermophilic lactic acid bacteria identified Streptococcus thermophilus strain ST110 as the putative producer of a bacteriocin with high level of activity against pediococci. Thermophilin 110 was isolated from culture supernatant after 16 h of growth and partially purified by a chloroform extraction procedure. The bacteriocin inhibited the growth of several lactic acid bacteria and in the case of Pediococcus acidilactici, it induced cell lysis with the concomitant release of OD₂₆₀ - absorbing material and intracellular enzymes. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed two components with estimated sizes between 4.0 kDa and 4.5 kDa, respectively, with possible involvement in bacteriocin activity as indicated by agar overlay assays with P. acidilactici as the target organism. Thermophilin 110 was inactivated by several proteolytic enzymes and also by α-amylase, which indicated the putative requirement of a glycosidic component for activity. The bacteriocin produced by S. thermophilus may be especially useful in the food processing industries to control spoilage caused by pediococci.