Sakacin P is a class IIa bacteriocin that is active against the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, and use of this compound as a biopreservative in foods has been suggested. In the present study, we characterized 30 spontaneous sakacin P-resistant mutants of L. monocytogenes obtained after single exposure to sakacin P. The frequency of development of sakacin P resistance for all strains was in the range from 10 ؊8 to 10 ؊9 . Using the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of sakacin P, the strains could be grouped into strains with high levels of resistance (IC 50 , >10 4 ng ml ؊1 ) and strains with low levels of resistance (IC 50 , <10 4 ng ml ؊1 ). Resistant strains belonging to the same IC 50 group also had similar physiological and genetic characteristics. Generally, the resistant strains showed substantial variations in many parameters, such as differences in the stability of the acquired resistance to sakacin P, growth fitness, food-related stress tolerance, and biofilm-forming ability. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed differences between wild-type and resistant strains in polysaccharide, fatty acid, and, protein regions. A mannose-specific phosphotransferase (PTS) operon has been described for class IIa bacteriocin resistance, and the sakacin P-resistant strains displayed both up-and downregulation of the expression of the mptA gene encoding the PTS system. This is the first comprehensive study of the diversity of a large number of spontaneous resistant mutants obtained after one exposure to a class IIa bacteriocin, particularly to sakacin P. The great diversity among the resistant strains exposed to the same stress conditions suggests that there are different resistance mechanisms.

Background Serum antibody detection has potential as a complementary diagnostic tool in animal tuberculosis (TB) control, particularly in multi-host systems. The objective of the present study was to assess the specificity (Sp) of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the new multiprotein complex P22 for the detection of specific antibodies against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) in the four most relevant domestic animals acting as MTC hosts: cattle, goat, sheep and pig. We used sera from an officially TB-free (OTF) country, Norway, and from a non-OTF one, Spain. The samples included sera from goats that had been vaccinated against M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and sheep from a herd in which Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis had been isolated. Results In cattle, the Sp ranged from 92.5 (IC95% 90.7–94) to 99.4% (IC95% 98.3–99.8) depending on the cut-off used and the origin of the samples (Spain or Norway). Sp in cattle (cut-off point 100) was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) for Norwegian samples. By contrast, Sp in goats was consistently low at the 100 cut-off [30.9 (CI95%23.4–39.5)-78% (CI95% 68.9–85)]. A higher cut-off of 150 improved Sp in Norwegian goats [97% (CI95% 91.6–99)], but still yielded a poor Sp of 56.1% (CI95% 47.3–64.6) in Spanish goats. In Norway at the 100 cut-off the Sp was 58.3 (CI95% 42.2–72.9) and 90.6% (CI95% 81–95.6) in MAP vaccinated and non-vaccinated goats, respectively, indicating interference due to MAP vaccination. Sp in sheep was between 94.4 (CI95% 91.7–96.3) and 100% (CI95% 96.3–100) depending on the cut-off and country, and no diagnostic interference due to infection with C. pseudotuberculosis was recorded. Sp in pigs was 100%, regardless the cut-off point applied, and no significant differences were observed between pigs from Norway and from Spain. Conclusions Due to its excellent Sp in pigs and acceptable Sp in cattle and sheep, this ELISA may constitute a suitable option for TB screening at herd level, particularly in OTF-countries.

The objective of this study was to characterise lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from faecal samples of healthy Ethiopian infants, with emphasis on bacteriocin production and antibiotic susceptibility. One hundred fifty LAB were obtained from 28 healthy Ethiopian infants. The isolates belonged to Lactobacillus (81/150), Enterococcus (54/150) and Streptococcus (15/150) genera. Lactobacillus species were more abundant in the breast-fed infants while Enterococcus dominated the mixed-fed population. Bacteriocin-producing LAB species were isolated from eight of the infants. Many different bacteriocins were identified, including one new bacteriocin from Streptococcus salivarius, avicin A (class IIa) from Enterococcus avium, one class IIa bacteriocin from Enterococcus faecalis strains, one unknown bacteriocin from E. faecalis and two unknown bacteriocins from Lactobacillus fermentum strains and the two-peptide gassericin T from Lactobacillus gasseri isolate. Susceptibility tests performed for nine antibiotics suggest that some lactobacilli might have acquired resistance to erythromycin (3 %) and tetracycline (4 %) only. The streptococci were generally antibiotic sensitive except for penicillin, to which they showed intermediate resistance. All enterococci were susceptible to ampicillin while 13 % showed penicillin resistance. Only one E. faecalis isolate was vancomycin-resistant. Tetracycline (51 %) and erythromycin (26 %) resistance was prevalent among the enterococci, but multidrug resistance was confined to E. faecalis (47 %) and Enterococcus faecium (33 %). Screening of enterococcal virulence traits revealed that 2 % were β-haemolytic. The structural genes of cytolysin were detected in 28 % of the isolates in five enterococcal species, the majority being E. faecalis and Enterococcus raffinosus. This study shows that bacteriocin production and antibiotic resistance is a common trait of faecal LAB of Ethiopian infants while virulence factors occur at low levels.