Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1982 Sep;44(3):653–658. doi: 10.1128/aem.44.3.653-658.1982

Competitive Dominance by a Bacteriocin-Producing Vibrio harveyi Strain

Peter R Hoyt 1, Ronald K Sizemore 1
PMCID: PMC242072  PMID: 16346094

Abstract

Vibrio (Beneckea) harveyi, a bioluminescent marine bacterium, has been shown to produce a bacteriocin-like substance the production of which is mediated by a plasmid. This substance is assumed to be proteinaceous because of its sensitivity to certain proteolytic enzymes. It is stable at low temperatures and can be concentrated by ammonium sulfate precipitation or negative-pressure dialysis. The molecular weight of the bacteriocin was determined to be 2.4 × 104 by molecular exclusion chromatography. Competition experiments indicated that bacteriocin-producing strains predominated over cured variants of the same strain in broth culture experiments. We studied several environmental parameters (pH, salinity, temperature, nutrient concentration) to determine their effects on the competitive advantage bestowed on a bacteriocin-producing strain. Under simulated free-living conditions, no competitive advantage attributable to bacteriocin production was observed. In a simulated enteric habitat, a bacteriocin-producing strain showed dramatic (>90%) inhibition of the sensitive strain within 24 h.

Full text

PDF
653

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baumann P., Baumann L., Mandel M. Taxonomy of marine bacteria: the genus Beneckea. J Bacteriol. 1971 Jul;107(1):268–294. doi: 10.1128/jb.107.1.268-294.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Cooke E. M., Hettiaratchy I. G., Buck A. C. Fate of ingested Escherichia coli in normal persons. J Med Microbiol. 1972 Aug;5(3):361–369. doi: 10.1099/00222615-5-3-361. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Hastings J. W., Nealson K. H. Bacterial bioluminescence. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1977;31:549–595. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.31.100177.003001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ikari N. S., Kenton D. M., Young V. M. Interaction in the germfree mouse intestine of colicinogenic and colicin-sensitive microorganisms. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1969 Apr;130(4):1280–1284. doi: 10.3181/00379727-130-33773. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kelstrup J., Gibbons R. J. Inactivation of bacteriocins in the intestinal canal and oral cavity. J Bacteriol. 1969 Sep;99(3):888–890. doi: 10.1128/jb.99.3.888-890.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kékessy D. A., Piguet J. D. New method for detecting bacteriocin production. Appl Microbiol. 1970 Aug;20(2):282–283. doi: 10.1128/am.20.2.282-283.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. McCall J. O., Sizemore R. K. Description of a bacteriocinogenic plasmid in Beneckea harveyi. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 Nov;38(5):974–979. doi: 10.1128/aem.38.5.974-979.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. McFeters G. A., Stuart D. G. Survival of coliform bacteria in natural waters: field and laboratory studies with membrane-filter chambers. Appl Microbiol. 1972 Nov;24(5):805–811. doi: 10.1128/am.24.5.805-811.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Nealson K. H. Autoinduction of bacterial luciferase. Occurrence, mechanism and significance. Arch Microbiol. 1977 Feb 4;112(1):73–79. doi: 10.1007/BF00446657. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. O'brien C. H., Sizemore R. K. Distribution of the Luminous Bacterium Beneckea harveyi in a Semitropical Estuarine Environment. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 Nov;38(5):928–933. doi: 10.1128/aem.38.5.928-933.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Orndorff S. A., Colwell R. R. Distribution and identification of luminous bacteria from the sargasso sea. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1980 May;39(5):983–987. doi: 10.1128/aem.39.5.983-987.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ruby E. G., Morin J. G. Luminous enteric bacteria of marine fishes: a study of their distribution, densities, and dispersion. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1979 Sep;38(3):406–411. doi: 10.1128/aem.38.3.406-411.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ruby E. G., Nealson K. H. Symbiotic association of Photobacterium fischeri with the marine luminous fish Monocentris japonica; a model of symbiosis based on bacterial studies. Biol Bull. 1976 Dec;151(3):574–586. doi: 10.2307/1540507. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Smith H. W. A search for transmissible pathogenic characters in invasive strains of Escherichia coli: the discovery of a plasmid-controlled toxin and a plasmid-controlled lethal character closely associated, or identical, with colicine V. J Gen Microbiol. 1974 Jul;83(0):95–111. doi: 10.1099/00221287-83-1-95. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Tagg J. R., Dajani A. S., Wannamaker L. W. Bacteriocins of gram-positive bacteria. Bacteriol Rev. 1976 Sep;40(3):722–756. doi: 10.1128/br.40.3.722-756.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES