Bacterial strain Burkholderia contaminans MS14 was isolated from soil that suppressed brown patch disease of lawn grass. An antifungal compound was purified from the liquid culture of this bacterium. In this study, complete covalent structures of two purified closely related antifungal compounds were determined by the experiments of TOCSY, NOESY, ROESY, 13C HSQC 2D NMR, and ESI-MS and GC. The analysis of monoisotopic masses of the purified preparation indicated presence of two related compounds with masses determined to be 1199.543 Da and 1215.518 Da; the difference corresponds to the mass of an oxygen atom. GC analysis identified a xylose sugar attached to the antifungal compound. NMR experiments revealed that the compound is cyclic and composed of eight amino acids, two of which are β-hydroxy derivatives of Tyr and Asn, and one being a novel amino acid. The novel amino acid serves as the scaffold for the attachment of the xylose and a short acyl chain. The spectrum and concentration of antifungal activity was determined using a microtiter plate assay. The antifungal compound demonstrated potent antifungal activities against a broad panel of fungal plant and animal pathogens, as well as two Pythium spp. Microscopic observations showed that the antifungal compound disrupts normal membrane morphology. The cells fill with large inclusion bodies and the membrane becomes irregularly shaped and swollen following the exposure to sub-inhibitory concentrations of the antifungal compound. Our data support the identification of a novel fungicide and the compound has been named occidiofungin, meaning fungal killer.

The oral bacterium Streptococcus mutans, strain JH1140, produces the antibiotic mutacin 1140. Mutacin 1140 belongs to a group of antibiotics called lanthipeptides. More specifically, mutacin 1140 is related to the epidermin type A(I) lanthipeptides. Mutagenesis experiments of this group of lanthipeptides have been primarily restricted to the posttranslationally modified mesolanthionine and 3-methyllanthionine residues. Site-directed mutagenesis of the core peptide of mutacin 1140 was performed using the suicide vector pVA891. Substitutions of the N-terminal residue, the charged residue in the hinge region, and residues in ring A and intertwined rings C and D were investigated. A truncation and insertion of residues in ring A and intertwined rings C and D were also performed to determine whether or not they would alter the antimicrobial activity of the producing strain. Bioassays revealed that five of 14 mutants studied had improved antimicrobial activity against the indicator strain Micrococcus luteus ATCC 10240. MICs against Streptococcus mutans UA159, Streptococcus pneumoniae ATCC 27336, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Clostridium difficile UK1, and Micrococcus luteus ATCC 10240 were determined for three mutacin 1140 variants that had the most significant increases in bioactivity in the M. luteus bioassay. This mutagenesis study of the epidermin group of lanthipeptides shows that antimicrobial activity can be significantly improved.

Mutacin 1140 and nisin A are peptide antibiotics that belong to the lantibiotic family. N-Terminal rings A and B of nisin A and mutacin 1140 (lipid II-binding domain) share many structural and sequence similarities. Nisin A binds lipid II and thus disrupts cell wall synthesis and also forms transmembrane pores. Very little is known about mutacin 1140 in this regard. We performed fluorescence-based studies using a bacteria-mimetic membrane system. The results indicated that lipid II monomers are arranged differently in the mutacin 1140 complex than in the nisin A complex. These differences in complex formation may be attributed to the fact that nisin A uses lipid II to form a distinct pore complex, while mutacin 1140 does not form pores in this membrane system. Further experiments demonstrated that the mutacin 1140-lipid II and nisin A-lipid II complexes are very stable and capable of withstanding competition from each other. Transmembrane electrical potential experiments using a Streptococcus rattus strain, which is sensitive to mutacin 1140, demonstrated that mutacin 1140 does not form pores in this strain even at a concentration 8 times higher than the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Circular complexes of mutacin 1140 and nisin A were observed by electron microscopy, providing direct evidence for a lateral assembly mechanism for these antibiotics. Mutacin 1140 did exhibit a membrane disruptive function in another commonly used artificial bacterial membrane system, and its disruptive activity was enhanced by increasing amounts of anionic phospholipids.