Characterization and purification of a bacteriocin from Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei BMK2005, an intestinal isolate active against multidrug-resistant pathogens

A strain of Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei BMK2005 isolated from healthy infant faeces has shown a remarkable antibacterial activity against 32 bacterial pathogenic strains of human clinical isolates. Among them, 13 strains belonging to species of Escherichia coli, Citrobacter freundii, Citrobacter diversus, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were resistant to Cefotaxime (CTX) and Ceftazidime (CAZ), and 4 strains of Staphylococcus aureus were resistant to Methicillin (MRSA). This antibacterial activity was attributed to a bacteriocin designated as Paracaseicin A. It was heat-stable up to 120°C for 5 min and active within the pH range of 2–5. Its activity was lost when treated with proteases, which reveals its proteinaceous nature. This bacteriocin was successfully purified only by two steps of reversed phase chromatography. Its molecular mass, determined by mass spectrometry analysis, was 2,462.5 Da. To our knowledge, the present study is the first report on characterization and purification of a bacteriocin, produced by a L. paracasei subsp. paracasei strain exhibiting an antibacterial activity against various multidrug-resistant species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, which reveals its potential for use in prevention or treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant species especially in cases of antibiotics-associated diarrhea (AAD).