Antimicrobial activity of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum against shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli

Aims The aim of the present work was to characterize the Lactiplantibacillus sp. LP5 strain, isolated from pork production, and identify bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances produced by this strain.Methods and Results In this study, LP5 was identified by species-specific PCR and 16S rRNA sequencing. Additionally, bacterial growth kinetics, antimicrobial activity, the detection of genes related to plantaricin production, and the genetic expression of plantaricins were determined. Lactiplantibacillus sp. LP5 was identified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. The well-diffusion test using cell-free supernatants (CFS), neutralized CFS, CFS treated with catalase, and CFS treated with proteinase K showed that inhibitory effects on a Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strain were produced by bacteriocins. The PCR technique allowed the detection of genes encoding E/F plantaricins, as well as J/K and whole genome sequencing, and bacteriocin mining analysis allowed us to confirm the presence of these plantaricins.Conclusions We can conclude that the inhibitory effect of L. plantarum LP5 isolated from pigs against the STEC EDL933 strain could be associated with the bacteriocins production and represents a potential use as a probiotic strain.

Automated summary

This study characterized the Lactiplantibacillus sp. LP5 strain isolated from pork production and identified bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances produced by this strain. LP5 was identified as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. The bacteriocins produced by LP5 showed inhibitory effects on a Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strain. The presence of genes encoding specific plantaricins was confirmed by PCR and whole genome sequencing.