Morphological changes in Salmonella Typhimurium caused by the lantibiotic bovicin HC5 in association with EDTA

Abstract

Bacteriocins, particularly those produced by Gram-positive bacteria, have in recent years been considered promising antimicrobial agents to inhibit bacterial growth in food, and thus are potential food preservatives. These peptides generally exhibit a spectrum of action limited to Gram-positive bacteria. However, their action can be extended to Gram-negative bacteria through association with chelating agents. In the present study, we evaluated the occurrence of morphological changes on the cell envelope of Salmonella Typhimurium cells treated with bovicin HC5—a lantibiotic from Streptococcus bovis HC5—in association with EDTA. The morphological changes of the cells were visualized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the increase in cell membrane permeability was confirmed by the leakage of potassium ions (K+). The images displayed changes in the cell envelope, with increased surface roughness and a decreased cell volume. These changes indicate that EDTA plays a role in the destabilization of the outer membrane, allowing bovicin HC5 to act on the cytoplasmic membrane through the formation of pores, which was confirmed by the detection of potassium in the cell supernatant. These results suggest that bovicin HC5 combined with EDTA has potential for use on Salmonella cells.