Bacteriocin production by Pseudomonas syringae pv. ciccaronei NCPPB2355. Isolation and partial characterization of the antimicrobial compound

Pseudomonas syringae pv. ciccaronei strain NCPPB2355 was found to produce a bacteriocin inhibitory against strains of Ps. syringae subsp. savastanoi, the causal agent of olive knot disease. Treatments with mitomycin C did not substantially increase the bacteriocin titre in culture. The purification of the bacteriocin obtained by ammonium sulphate precipitation of culture supernatant fluid, membrane ultrafiltration, gel filtration and preparative PAGE, led to the isolation of a high molecular weight proteinaceous substance. The bacteriocin analysed by SDS-PAGE revealed three protein bands with molecular weights of '76, 63 and 45 kDa, respectively. The bacteriocin was sensitive to heat and proteolytic enzymes, nias resistant to non-polar organic solvents and was active between pH 5.0-7.0. Plasmid-DNA analysis of Ps. syringae ciccaronei revealed the presence of 18 plasmids; bacteriocin-negative variants could not be obtained by cure experiments.