Identification of nucleotide sequence involved in Weissellicin L production

BACKGROUND: Weissellicin L, a novel bacteriocin produced by Weissella hellenica 4–7, was previously characterized but its full amino acid sequence remain unknown. The draft genome sequencing analysis of Weissella hellenica 4–7 was performed and the open reading frame (ORF) encoding the weissellicin L was identified and clarified. FINDINGS: The obtained results indicated that the mature bacteriocin consists of 29 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of approximately 3205.64 Da. A conserved processing site of two glycine residues in positions -1 and -2 was observed in the leader peptides. The possibility that bacteriocin secretion depended on ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter was therefore suggested. Furthermore, primers were designed from 5’ and 3’ flanking sequences of the weissellicin L structural gene. PCR presented a single product and was useful to detect weissellicin L structural gene. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the full amino acid sequence of Weissellicin L. A rapid method to detect weissellicin L structural gene was also reported in this study.