Rapid purification, partial characterization, and antimicrobial spectrum of the bacteriocin, Pediocin AcM, from Pediococcus acidilactici M

The bacteriocin from Pediococcus acidilactici M, designated as Pediocin AcM, was rapidly purified to homogeneity by the pH mediated cell adsorption-desorption method and semi-preparative reversed-phase HPLC. The purification yield was 40.4% and the specific activity was increased by 2450-fold. It gave a single band and a single peak on SDS-PAGE and HPLC analysis, respectively. When subjected to electrospray LC-MS analysis, the protein was found to be highly pure and the molecular weight was determined as 4,618 Da. High concentration of the bacteriocin (> 50 μgml) showed good resistance to extremes of pH (1–12) and temperature (121 °C). Pediocin AcM was deduced to be a monomer with an intra-peptide disulfide bond from the results of reversed-phase analytical HPLC analyses after reduction, oxidation and trypsin digestion. P. acidilactici M inhibited a large number of bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus coagulans, B. cereus, and Aeromonas hydrophila.