ABSTRACTA new environmental bacterial strain exhibited strong antimicrobial characteristics against methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant strains ofEnterococcus faecalisandLactobacillus plantarum, and other Gram-positive bacteria. The producer strain, designated OSY-I1, was determined to beBrevibacillus laterosporusvia morphological, biochemical, and genetic analyses. The antimicrobial agent was extracted from cells of OSY-I1with isopropanol, purified by high-performance liquid chromatography, and structurally analyzed using mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The MS and NMR results, taken together, uncovered a linear lipopeptide consisting of 13 amino acids and an N-terminal C6fatty acid (FA) chain, 2-hydroxy-3-methylpentanoic acid. The lipopeptide (FA-Dhb-Leu-Orn-Ile-Ile-Val-Lys-Val-Val-Lys-Tyr-Leu-valinol, where Dhb is α,β-didehydrobutyric acid and valinol is 2-amino-3-methyl-1-butanol) has a molecular mass of 1,583.0794 Da and contains three modified amino acid residues: α,β-didehydrobutyric acid, ornithine, and valinol. The compound, designated brevibacillin, was determined to be a member of a cationic lipopeptide antibiotic family. In addition to its potency against drug-resistant bacteria, brevibacillin also exhibited low MICs (1 to 8 μg/ml) against selected foodborne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, such asListeria monocytogenes,Bacillus cereus, andAlicyclobacillus acidoterrestris. Purified brevibacillin showed no sign of degradation when it was held at 80°C for 60 min, and it retained at least 50% of its antimicrobial activity when it was held for 22 h under acidic or alkaline conditions. On the basis of these findings, brevibacillin is a potent antimicrobial lipopeptide which is potentially useful to combat drug-resistant bacterial pathogens and foodborne pathogenic and spoilage bacteria.
Draft Genome Sequence of Brevibacillus laterosporus OSY-I1, a Strain That Produces Brevibacillin, Which Combats Drug-Resistant Gram-Positive Bacteria
