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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Bacteriocins are a distinct family of antimicrobial proteins postulated to porate bacterial membranes. However, direct experimental evidence of pore formation by these proteins is lacking. Here we report a multi-mode poration mechanism induced by four-helix bacteriocins, epidermicin NI01 and aureocin A53. Using a combination of crystallography, spectroscopy, bioassays, and nanoscale imaging, we established that individual two-helix segments of epidermicin retain antibacterial activity but each of these segments adopts a particular poration mode. In the intact protein these segments act synergistically to balance out antibacterial and hemolytic activities. The study sets a precedent of multi-mode membrane disruption advancing the current understanding of structure-activity relationships in pore-forming proteins.

Flowering Poration-A Synergistic Multi-Mode Antibacterial Mechanism by a Bacteriocin Fold.,Hammond K, Lewis H, Halliwell S, Desriac F, Nardone B, Ravi J, Hoogenboom BW, Upton M, Derrick JP, Ryadnov MG iScience. 2020 Aug 21;23(8):101423. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101423. Epub 2020, Jul 30. PMID:32795916^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.