Antibacterial Activity of the Peptide Microcin J25 Produced by Escherichia coli

Bacteriocins are generally active antimicrobial peptides effective against bacteria closely related to the producer. Escherichia coli produce two bacteriocins: colicins and microcins. Microcin J25 (Mcc J25) is an antibacterial peptide that inhibits bacterial transcription by disrupting the nucleotide-uptake channel of bacterial RNA polymerase. The objective of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial activity of MccJ25 produced by the bacteriocinogenic E. coli.

In this experimental study, 120 clinical specimens were selected from private diagnostic laboratories in Isfahan (Iran) in 2020. Antagonistic activity of isolates was tested by adopting agar plug method. Total DNA was extracted from clinical specimens and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using specific primers for amplification of the complete sequence of MccJ25 gene. Accuracy of the PCR products was confirmed by direct sequencing. Homology analysis was performed by using BLAST. Data were analyzed with Chromasv2.1.1 software.

Overall, 120 E. coli strains were isolated from the clinical specimens. The antibiotic activity of Mcc J25 was mainly directed at Enterobacteriaceae, including several pathogenic E. coli strains of which 25 had positive well test samples, and about 5 (20%) of the collected clinical samples that were infected with E. coli had the MccJ25 gene.

Based on the results, Mcc J25 has favorable antibacterial potential, which can be further exploited as an alternative to chemical antibiotics.