Commercial Development and Application of Type A Lantibiotics

Lantibiotics are an interesting group of antimicrobial peptides. There are a number of reviews that describe the potential application of lantibiotics for controlling foodborne illnesses and their potential to treat Gram positive infections caused by organisms like Staphylococcus aureus. In this review, commercial potential for the producing organism for promoting health and their potential for protein chemistry applications are discussed. Lantibiotics are ribozomally synthesized as a prepropeptide, comprised of a leader sequence that directs the propeptide to the enzymes that perform a number of post-translational modifications. This system affords several possibilities for the synthesis of a library of peptides that may have therapeutic use. We also take a look at a couple of lantibiotic producing organisms that have potential applications in the field of probiotics, given their ability to displace pathogenic microorganisms. The use of their application along with the discussion of recent patents are discussed in this review article.