Purification and Characterization of Plantaricin ZJ316, a Novel Bacteriocin against Listeria monocytogenes from Lactobacillus plantarum ZJ316

Bacteriocins are known to be natural preservatives, which are becoming increasingly necessary in many types of food to control the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, a novel bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum ZJ316, called plantaricin ZJ316, was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel chromatography, and high-performance liquid chromatography. By mass spectrometry, the molecular mass of plantaricin ZJ316 was determined to be 2,366.06 Da. No homologous sequences were found in databases based on comparisons with the N-terminal amino acid sequencing. The bacteriocin was heat resistant and stable after incubation at pH 2.0 to 10.0. It was sensitive to alpha-chymotrypsin, trypsin, and proteinase K. Plantaricin ZJ316 had a broad inhibitory activity against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, especially Listeria monocytogenes. Our results suggested that this bacteriocin has the potential to inhibit pathogenic bacteria in food products.